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Bills Sign 6 UDFAs

May 13th, 2021 at 5:42pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Bills became the latest team to officially announce their UDFA class as rookie minicamps approach. Buffalo had a small one, only inking six guys. Here they are:

Griffin is a cool one, since his dad is influential rapper Warren G. Buffalo signed Jacob Hollister this offseason but still don’t have a ton at tight end, so Morris could have a real chance of making the roster. He led Bowling Green in receiving the past two seasons, and had 649 yards and four touchdowns in 2019, his last full campaign.

Thompson was very productive in college as a four-year starter for the Aztecs. From his freshman-senior seasons, he racked up 11 interceptions, five fumble recoveries, and five forced fumbles. Tuitele is the cousin of current Bills defensive end A.J. Epenesa.

NFL Draft Pick Signings: 5/13/21

May 13th, 2021 at 9:33am CST by Zachary Links

Today’s late round signings:

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

  • DT Alim McNeill (third round; North Carolina State)

Green Bay Packers

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Football Team

Bills Sign Round 2 Pick Carlos Basham Jr.

May 12th, 2021 at 6:06pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Bills operated aggressively in an effort to bolster their pass rush in the draft, taking defensive ends with each of their first two picks. The second of those selections, Carlos Basham Jr., signed his rookie contract Wednesday.

Basham will join first-round pick Gregory Rousseau in Buffalo. Cousin of Cowboys D-lineman Tarell Basham, Carlos went to Wake Forest and was a steady presence in ACC backfields.

The 6-foot-3, 274-pound pass rusher registered 10 sacks as a junior in 2019. Between his sophomore and junior seasons, the emerging Demon Deacons sack artist totaled 29 tackles for loss. Basham played in just six games last season, recording five sacks. Scouts Inc. graded Basham as the 43rd overall prospect — five spots ahead of Rousseau. The Bills drafted Basham at No. 61.

Last season, the Bills finished with just 38 sacks. No Buffalo rusher totaled more than five. The team still has thirtysomething starters Jerry Hughes and Mario Addison, but three first- or second-round picks over the past two years will be groomed to take over in the near future.

Buffalo drafted Iowa’s A.J. Epenesa in the 2020 second round and now will have two new coveted prospects set to help the cause. Hughes and Addison are set to be free agents in 2022. Addison adjusted his three-year contract in March, converting it into a two-year deal.

Steven Nelson Has Interest From Texans, Bears, Eagles, Bengals, Bills

May 12th, 2021 at 12:37pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

One of the top free agents left on the market is cornerback Steven Nelson. The Steelers released Nelson back on March 23rd, and he’s remained unsigned ever since.

That being said, it sounds like he’s unsigned still by choice, not because of lack of interest. Nelson’s “market has been strong,” and he’s received interest from 14 teams including the Texans, Bears, Eagles, Bengals, and Bills, a source told Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

Fowler adds that Nelson is choosing to be “patient waiting for right fit and opportunity.” Nelson was originally drafted by the Chiefs in the third-round in 2015. After a 2018 season where he had four interceptions for Kansas City, he signed a three-year, $25.5MM pact with the Steelers. He then started 30 games for Pittsburgh over the last two seasons, and had nine passes defended and two interceptions in 2020.

Nelson has been a solid starter, and has received strong marks from Pro Football Focus. In fact over the last two years, PFF has him graded as the NFL’s 11th-best cornerback. He could be a boost to plenty of teams in need of help in the secondary, and will likely get some significant money from somebody.

Bills To Meet With Eli Ankou

May 12th, 2021 at 9:50am CST by Zachary Links

The Bills are set to meet with defensive tackle Eli Ankou, according to Sal Capaccio of WGR 550 (Twitter link). Ankou, who stands at 6’3” and weighs 327 pounds, could provide depth and run-stuffing help in Buffalo.

Ankou, who won’t turn 27 until next month, has already spent time with five different NFL teams. His last stop was with the Cowboys, after the Texans shipped him mid-season in exchange for a seventh-round pick. In 2020 alone, Ankou spent time with three different teams, going from the Colts to the Texans to the Cowboys.

Ankou notched five tackles in seven games for Dallas last year. For the most part, the former undrafted free agent out of UCLA has served as a special teams player, though he did notch 1.5 sacks as a rookie in Jacksonville.

The Bills already boast a solid interior, headlined by Ed Oliver and Vernon Butler plus Harrison Phillips and Star Lotulelei.

Panthers To Audition Washington QB Kevin Thomson

May 9th, 2021 at 12:13pm CST by Zachary Links

Washington quarterback Kevin Thomson will join the Panthers for their rookie minicamp next week, as NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero tweets. Thomson, who had previous stops at UNLV and Sacramento State, opted to turn pro this year over an eighth year of college eligibility.

Thomson, who turns 26 in September, was on track to win the Huskies’ starting job in 2020. Instead, an undisclosed injury (believed to be his ribs) sidelined him to start the year. It was familiar territory for Thomson, who battled through back issues and other maladies throughout his collegiate career.

After that, redshirt freshman Dylan Morris held on to the job for the rest of the pandemic-shortened slate. Thomson went undrafted as a result, but the Panthers quickly reached out on Day 3. Now older than Patrick Mahomes, he’ll fight for a spot on the Panthers’ depth chart behind Sam Darnold, P.J. Walker, Will Grier, and Tommy Stevens.

“When I was at UNLV going into my second year, I had Tommy John surgery. It put me out for several months and gave me time to reflect on what I really wanted and made me realize how passionate I was about football and how I wanted to continue to pursue it,” Thomson said recently (via Yahoo Sports). “I knew it would take a tremendous amount of work to get where I wanted to be, but I was willing to do that. So I think the injury really made me a better player overall since it forced me to do some self-reflection.”

Per Pelissero, these undrafted QBs will also show their stuff at rookie minicamps later this month:

  • Mississippi State’s K.J. Costello (Chargers)
  • Tulsa’s Zach Smith (Bills)
  • Memphis’ Brady White (Titans)
  • Monmouth’s Kenji Bahar (Ravens)
  • San Jose State’s Josh Love (Browns; 2020 UDFA who spent last offseason with Rams)

This Date In Transactions History: 2014 NFL Draft

May 8th, 2021 at 10:10am CST by Ben Levine

The first-round of the 2014 NFL Draft took place seven years ago today. While there was plenty of hype heading into the first day of the draft, surely no one expected the first round to produce so many accomplished players. Among the 32 individuals who heard their name called on May 8, 2014, 17 of those players eventually earned Pro Bowl nods. That’s not shabby.

From a transactions standpoint, there were five trades completed on that Thursday evening, with the Browns and Vikings starring in a handful of the deals. While there were whispers that the first-overall pick could get traded from Houston, the Texans ultimately kept the selection and drafted Jadeveon Clowney at No. 1.

The first trade of the evening was between the Browns and Bills. Cleveland wanted to move back to select a cornerback, so they sent No. 4 to Buffalo for No. 9, a future first, and a future fourth. The Bills ended up selecting wideout Sammy Watkins. As the first round continued to progress, the Browns apparently didn’t feel comfortable staying at No. 9. So, they packaged that selection and a future fifth-round pick to the Vikings for the No. 8 pick, and they proceeded to select cornerback Justin Gilbert. The Vikings selected linebacker Anthony Barr with their new selection.

The Saints later got into the action, acquiring the No. 20 pick from the Cardinals to select receiver Brandin Cooks. New Orleans sent Arizona No. 27 and No. 91, with the Cards selecting safety Deone Bucannon with that first-round selection.

The Browns made another trade later in the night, this time in pursuit of a quarterback. Cleveland traded No. 26 and No. 83 to Philly in exchange for No.22…and the Browns ultimately selected quarterback Johnny Manziel. Really, the writing was on the wall with that selection; the team had previously drafted two other QB busts (Brandon Weeden, Brady Quinn) at that same spot in the draft.

The last trade of the evening once again featured the Vikings. Minnesota acquired the No. 32 pick from the Seahawks for picks No. 40 and No. 108. The Vikings used their new selection on quarterback Teddy Bridgewater.

It was surely an entertaining evening, with Cleveland serving as the star of the show. However, fast forward to today, and Browns fans are surely still shaking their head at how everything unfolded.

NFL: Teams Can’t Cut Players For Refusing Vaccine

May 7th, 2021 at 12:35pm CST by Zachary Links

Earlier this week, Bills GM Brandon Beane caused a stir by saying that he would release players who refused to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Since then, the league has spoken with Beane to let him know that teams cannot cut players solely for not getting their shots (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero).

“Yeah, I would [cut them], because it would be an advantage,” Beane said on One Bills Live (via the New York Post). “I think there’s going to be some incentives if you have X -percent of your players and staff vaccinated. You can live normal…let’s just call it, back to the old days.”

“If you don’t, it’s going to look more like last year…I hope that, if those are the rules, we’ll be able to get enough people vaccinated and not have to deal with all the headaches from a year ago.”

The NFL has previously said that the vaccine would not be mandatory for players. However, players who do get vaccinated will have less restrictions put upon them, including distancing requirements.

Front Office Notes: Panthers, Kuechly, Texans

May 3rd, 2021 at 10:26pm CST by Ben Levine

Scott Fitterer is looking to add to his staff. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports (via Twitter) that the Panthers have requested permission to interview Bills director of player personnel Dan Morgan for their assistant GM job. The organization has also reached out to the Eagles about interviewing director of player personnel Ian Cunningham for the assistant GM gig, via Rapoport on Twitter.

Morgan, of course, was a first-round pick by the Panthers back in 2001. The linebacker spent the first seven seasons of his career with Carolina, including a 2004 campaign where he made his lone Pro Bowl appearance. Following his playing career, Morgan joined the Seahawks front office, and he’s been in his current role with Buffalo since 2018.

Cunningham’s front office career started in Baltimore, and he joined the Eagles organization as director of college scouting in 2017. The executive was promoted to his current gig in 2019. As Eagles reporter Geoff Mosher points out (on Twitter), Panthers director of player personnel Patrick Stewart previously served as Philly’s national scout, so the front office has a connection to the Eagles.

Let’s check out some more front office notes from around the NFL…

  • While the Panthers are looking to add to their front office, the team has also lost a valuable (and very popular scout). Rapoport reports (via Twitter) that Panthers legend Luke Kuechly resigned from his role as pro scout. The former Defensive Player of the Year took on the role after retiring as a player last offseason. Panthers reporter Joe Person tweets that Kuechly wants to spend more time with his family before deciding the next steps of his career.
  • The Texans and director of pro personnel Rob Kisiel have mutually decided to part ways, according to Albert Breet of TheMMQB (via Twitter). Kisiel had been with the organization since the beginning, first serving as a scout before eventually making his way up to director of pro personnel.
  • Speaking of the Texans, the front office hired former Patriots pro scout Ronnie McGill prior to the draft, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter). Houston GM Nick Caserio has had a habit of stealing talent from New England, and it makes sense that he’d have his eyes on McGill. The former college running back had been with the Patriots organization since 2010.

Bills Pick Up Options For Josh Allen, Tremaine Edmunds

May 3rd, 2021 at 10:25am CST by Zachary Links

No surprise here. The Bills have picked up the fifth-year options on quarterback Josh Allen and linebacker Tremaine Edmunds, per a club announcement. 

Allen, the No. 7 overall pick in the 2018 draft, is now set to make $23.106MM in 2022. Edmunds, the No. 16 choice in the same class, will earn a salary of $12.716MM. The Bills didn’t have to stress over either decision, though negotiating Allen’s next deal may be a bit trickier.

“Josh and I have spoken,” Beane said recently. “We’d love to get Josh extended, but it has to be a number that works for him and us. We’re all on same page. Josh wants to be here. That gives me hope we’ll get something done at some point. Can’t guarantee it’ll be this year.”

Clearly, there’s mutual interest in a longer arrangement, but Allen has serious leverage. His breakout 2020 saw 13 wins for the Bills, transforming him into an MVP candidate. Allen finished the year with a 69.2-percent completion rate, 4,544 yards, 30 touchdowns, and ten interception. And, for good measure, he added another 421 rushing yards and eight touchdowns on the ground. Thanks in large part to Allen, the Bills reached the AFC Championship Game, their first appearance since 1993.

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