By Tim Graham
The Buffalo Bills now have gotten rid of their top three
tacklers from last season.
The Bills announced this afternoon they've traded linebacker
Kelvin Sheppard to the Indianapolis Colts for pass-rusher Jerry Hughes.
Hughes was the 31st overall pick in the 2010 draft, but has
been a disappointment, starting only seven games in his three NFL seasons.
Hughes made 41 tackles and added a career-high four sacks
for the Colts last year.
Sheppard, a 2011 third-round pick, was third on the Bills last year with 77 tackles, three for losses, two sacks and a pass
breakup.
The
Bills previously cut leading tackler Nick Barnett and No. 2 tackler George Wilson. The Bills' fourth-leading tackler, safey Jairus Byrd, isn't under contract.
March 18, 2013 - 11:02 PM
By Tim Graham
The Tennessee Titans apparently believe the secret to
winning the Lombardi Trophy is to sign as many former Buffalo Bills as they can.
Tennessee has added to its
roster a third of Buffalo's
six 2012 captains, reportedly signing quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick today to a
two-year contract.
The Titans previously signed defensive captain and safety
George Wilson. Two of the Bills' other captains, fullback Corey McIntyre and punter Brian Moorman, are out there if the Titans want to keep stockpiling. They also signed former Bills left guard Andy Levitre (not a captain).
Continue reading "Titans continue to gather Bills, sign Ryan Fitzpatrick as backup" »
March 18, 2013 - 11:33 AM
By Tim Graham
And on the seventh day of free agency, the Press Coverage blog
reviewed the Buffalo Bills' offseason personnel moves to date ...
Players who have re-signed
- • Quarterback Tarvaris Jackson
- • Linebacker Bryan Scott
- • Cornerback Leodis McKelvin
Players whose rights were retained
- • Tight end Mike Caussin
- • Tight end Dorin Dickerson
- • Safety Jairus Byrd
Players who have joined
- • Linebacker Manny Lawson
Players who have departed
- • Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick (Tennessee Titans)
- • Wide receiver Donald Jones (New England Patriots)
- • Wide receiver David Nelson
- • Guard Andy Levitre (Tennessee
Titans)
- • Guard Chad
Rinehart (San Diego
Chargers)
- • Defensive end Chris Kelsay (retired)
- • Defensive end Shawne Merriman (retired)
- • Linebacker Nick Barnett
- • Cornerback Terrence McGee
- • Safety George Wilson (Tennessee Titans)
February 28, 2013 - 10:45 AM
By Tim Graham
When the Buffalo Bills rebooted their operations in January,
a point of emphasis was the creation of an analytics department. While no
details have been divulged on how the Bills will implement analytics, a common
usage around the league is in determining contract values.
ProFootballFocus.com, one of the most popular analytics sites,
has applied its metrics to the Bills' 2012 roster to determine who underperformed
and outperformed their salary-cap figures last year.
You can check out PFF for its explanation of each player, but
here are the lists:
Undervalued
- 1. Jairus Byrd, safety
- 2. C.J. Spiller, running back
- 3. Andy Levitre, left guard
- 4. Kyle Williams, defensive tackle
- 5. Alex Carrington, defensive tackle
- 6. George Wilson, safety
- 7. Nick Barnett, linebacker
- 8. Scott Chandler, tight end
- 9. Bryan Scott, linebacker
- 10. Cordy Glenn, left tackle
Overvalued
- 1. Mario Williams, defensive end
- 2. Chris Kelsay, defensive end
- 3. Ryan Fitzpatrick, quarterback
- 4. Brad Smith, wide receiver
- 5. Terrence McGee, cornerback
- 6. Spencer Johnson, defensive tackle
- 7. Mark Anderson, defensive end
- 8. Tyler Thigpen, quarterback
- 9. Erik Pears, right tackle
- 10. Shawne Merriman, defensive end
The Bills already have released two of the PFF's 10 most
undervalued players (Barnett and Wilson). Byrd, Levitre and Scott could become unrestricted free
agents in a couple weeks.
From the overvalued list, the Bills have dumped McGee.
Kelsay announced his retirement Wednesday night. From the free agents on the
list, we safely can assume Thigpen won't be back, Merriman's probably a goner and Johnson isn't worth re-signing.
February 28, 2013 - 8:37 AM
By Tim Graham
The Buffalo Bills have parted ways with four veteran
defenders in less than three weeks.
Defensive end Chris Kelsay, cornerback Terrence McGee and
safety George Wilson didn't play games for any other team. Linebacker Nick
Barnett started every game for the Bills the past two seasons after eight years
with the Green Bay Packers.
Here is a breakdown of how much experience has been deducted
from Buffalo's
roster with these four players.
- • 38 seasons
- • 500 games
- • 404 starts
- • 59.5 sacks
- • 44 interceptions
- • 20 forced fumbles
- • 20 fumble recoveries
- • 7 defensive touchdowns
- • 8 seasons as Bills captain
Numbers, of course, don't paint the complete portrait.
Kelsay (neck) and McGee (knee) ended last season on injured
reserve. Barnett and Wilson were the Bills' top two tacklers, but they were
lacking when it came to game-changing plays.
But the Bills' defensive leadership will have a substantially
different composition in 2013.
February 27, 2013 - 6:44 PM
By Tim Graham
Buffalo Bills defensive end Chris Kelsay has informed the
club he will retire after 10 seasons.
Kelsay, a second-round draft choice in 2003, was a
three-time captain who recorded 32.5 sacks, ninth-most in franchise history, but struggled to crack the starting lineup last year.
"I want to thank Mr. Wilson for the opportunity he gave
me 10 years ago to be a Buffalo Bill," Kelsay said in comments distributed
by the team. "One of my goals was to finish my career with the team that
drafted me and that came to fruition. I feel very blessed to say that."
Continue reading "Veteran Bills DE Chris Kelsay announces retirement" »
February 22, 2013 - 11:43 AM
By Jay Skurski
Former Buffalo Bills safety George Wilson has found a job with the Tennessee Titans.
Wilson, 31, served as a defensive captain for the Bills last season and was an NFL Players' Association team representative. He started all 16 games and finished second on the team with 104 tackles. Wilson, however, registered zero "big plays," finishing the year without an interception, sack, forced fumble or fumble recovery.
His release saved the team $2.925 million against the salary cap.
"George is a quality, veteran player," Titans General Manager Ruston Webster said in a statement released by the team. "He will contribute for us on the field, but his
contributions also will come off the field, in the locker room and in the
meetings rooms.
"He was respected as a football player and a leader during his
career in Buffalo,
and he will bring that veteran presence to our team."
February 14, 2013 - 4:49 PM
By Tim Graham
Terrence McGee expected the Buffalo Bills to cut him.
When the phone call came this morning, however, the
frequently injured cornerback said he "felt blindsided."
The Bills cut McGee because of a failed physical. He had one year left on his contract with a base salary of $1.75 million.
The announcement came three days after unloading two other
veteran defenders: linebacker Nick Barnett and safety George Wilson.
Continue reading "Terrence McGee 'blindsided' by Bills call, but he'd love to return" »
February 14, 2013 - 4:13 PM
By Tim Graham
The Buffalo Bills continued to shed veteran defensive
players today.
Three days after releasing linebacker Nick Barnett and
safety George Wilson, they Bills cut cornerback Terrence McGee.
"Terrence has been a contributor to the Bills
organization for 10 years and we thank him for his efforts on the field and off,"
Bills General Manager Buddy Nix said in a statement. "We wish him the best
of luck in the future."
Continue reading "Bills release often-injured former Pro Bowler Terrence McGee" »
February 14, 2013 - 3:14 PM
By Tim Graham
Pro Football Focus tweeted an amazing stat this afternoon.
Denver Broncos linebacker Von Miller last season missed one
tackle on 576 passing snaps and one tackle on 339 running snaps. The average
distance downfield that Miller made a tackle was 0.25 yards away from the
line of scrimmage.
With that in mind, I wanted to see who the Buffalo Bills' most
efficient tacklers were in PFF's play-by-play review.
Continue reading "Hits and whiffs: The best and worst Buffalo Bills tacklers" »
