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.
By Tim Graham
Among the highlights of the Buffalo Bills' pre-draft news
conference Tuesday were General Manager Buddy Nix's remarks about linebacker
Nigel Bradham.
Linebacker is considered a weakness for Buffalo. The position was disappointing as a
whole last season, and then Buffalo
cut leading tackler Nick Barnett.
Nix, however, claimed Buffalo's
linebackers are underrated.
"We've got some talent there," Nix said, "and
a lot more than people think."
Continue reading "Nigel Bradham, Bills expect him to be a defensive playmaker " »
April 10, 2013 - 12:53 AM
By Tim Graham
The Buffalo Bills lost another free agent.
Kyle Moore, a surprise performer last year on a disappointing
defensive front, signed a one-year contract Monday with the Chicago Bears.
Moore, despite being inactive the first four games, started
seven straight games in November and December. Moore made 24 tackles, three for losses. He
notched the first three sacks of his career.
Analytics website ProFootballFocus.com rated Moore 25th in pass-rushing
among all 4-3 defensive ends who played at least 25 percent of their teams'
snaps. The site tallied 23 quarterback hurries for Moore, tying him for 30th in the NFL.
Moore had arthroscopic knee surgery in January, but a source informed The Buffalo News the Bills wanted to re-sign him. But last month's acquisition of linebacker Manny Lawson might have made Moore expendable.
Moore
was a Tampa Bay Buccaneers fourth-round draft choice in 2009 and eventually
landed on the Detroit Lions' practice squad, from where the Bills plucked him in
November 2011.
An update accounting of the comings and goings on Buffalo's roster in free agency:
Players who have re-signed
- • Quarterback Tarvaris Jackson
- • Running back Tashard Choice
- • Tight end Dorin Dickerson
- • Colin Brown
- • Linebacker Bryan Scott
- • Cornerback Leodis McKelvin
Players whose rights have been retained
- • Tight end Mike Caussin
- • Safety Jairus Byrd
Players who have joined
- • Quarterback Kevin Kolb
- • Defensive tackle Alan Branch
- • Linebacker Manny Lawson
Players who have departed
- • Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick (Tennessee Titans)
- • Wide receiver Donald Jones (New England Patriots)
- • Wide receiver David Nelson (Cleveland Browns)
- • Guard Andy Levitre (Tennessee
Titans)
- • Guard Chad
Rinehart (San Diego
Chargers)
- • Defensive end Chris Kelsay (retired)
- • Defensive end Shawne Merriman (retired)
- • Defensive end Kyle Moore (Chicago Bears)
- • Linebacker Nick Barnett
- • Cornerback Terrence McGee
- • Safety George Wilson (Tennessee Titans)
By Mark Gaughan
Score an early April Fool's joke for free-agent linebacker Nick Barnett, who tweeted early this morning that he was glad to be back with the Buffalo Bills.
Barnett, whose contract ran out at the end of the season after two years with the Bills, remains on the free-agent market, as he subsequently has acknowledged. The Bills, meanwhile, still can use some insurance at the coverage linebacker position.
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 23, 2013 - 3:27 PM
Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o holds a news conference with reporters at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis. (Photo: Associated Press)
By Tim Graham
INDIANAPOLIS
-- NFL teams are grilling Manti Te'o about his fabricated dead girlfriend.
That has been happening here at the NFL scouting combine
behind closed doors. The Buffalo Bills will be among the 20 teams Te'o speaks
with, and every one of them has asked him tough questions.
"No," Te'o replied with a laugh when I asked him
if any of the teams have let him off the hook. "They're all asking me."
The interrogation went public this afternoon.
Te'o began to rehabilitate his reputation in the NFL media
community with an effective news conference in Lucas Oil Stadium. The
15-minute session was the first time Te'o met reporters in an uncontrolled
setting since the national championship game.
Continue reading "Manti Te'o endures his media penance at NFL combine" »
February 20, 2013 - 6:10 PM
By Tim Graham
INDIANAPOLIS
-- The Buffalo Bills want some answers from Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o
this week.
Doug Whaley, the Bills' assistant general manager, told The
Buffalo News today in Indianapolis
that Te'o will be among the 60 college prospects they interview here at the NFL scouting
combine.
Te'o made international headlines last month when it was
revealed his dead girlfriend -- a significant part of an inspirational tale
about a kid playing through tragedy to become a Heisman Trophy runner-up --
didn't exist.
Continue reading "Bills to ask Manti Te'o what in hell that girlfriend thing was all about" »
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" »
