Back from their bye week and preparing for a stretch of must-win games, the Bills may have one of their skill-position starters ready in time to begin that run. Sean McDermott said Wednesday the team will open Dawson Knox‘s practice window.
Knox, who has been out since October with a wrist injury, has missed the past five games. The Bills will have three weeks from Wednesday to activate their highly paid tight end. Buffalo is also designating cornerback Kaiir Elam for return. The struggling former first-round pick has missed time due to an ankle injury.
Sitting 6-6, the Bills are not in good shape on the injury front. Tre’Davious White, Matt Milano and DaQuan Jones sustained severe maladies early this season. But Buffalo has only used one injury activation previously, holding seven such moves for their post-bye period. Knox and Elam are on track to take up two of those slots.
Given a four-year, $52MM extension just before last season, Knox remains a key presence in Buffalo’s offense. Though, the team’s decision to select Dalton Kincaid in this year’s first round has affected the fifth-year tight end. The Bills have made significant investments in this position, doing so as they have not used a Day 1 or Day 2 draft choice on a wide receiver since McDermott’s first draft; the team chose Zay Jones in the 2017 second round. Granted, Buffalo traded a first-rounder for Stefon Diggs in 2020.
The Diggs-dependent passing attack still involved Knox before his injury. The Stanford product played 68% of Buffalo’s offensive snaps through seven games, but his aerial role has diminished. Knox caught 15 passes for just 102 yards before his wrist surgery. He topped 500 yards in each of the past two seasons. The Bills have been loosely tied to a Zach Ertz pursuit, but Knox’s return to join Kincaid would seemingly stand to send the ex-Eagles and Cardinals pass catcher elsewhere.
Elam’s early NFL performance has disappointed. The 2022 first-rounder, who appears to have been a Trent McDuffie consolation prize for the Bills, has failed to commandeer a starting job. With White again out for the season, the Bills traded for Rasul Douglas at the deadline. Elam appeared in trade rumors before his injury, but the Bills will still attempt to develop him. The 6-foot-1 corner has played in just three games this season, being a healthy scratch at points.
The Bills’ offseason acquisition of Poona Ford appeared to give them experienced depth along the defensive line. The veteran has played sparingly this year, however, and his lack of usage is understandably not sitting well.
Ford inked a one-year deal with Buffalo in May. The pact contained $1.5MM in guaranteed compensation but a maximum value of $3.25MM based on playing time and sack incentives. The 28-year-old appeared to be set up for a rotational role, but instead he has been a healthy scratch five times this season. Ford’s snap share sits at 32%, by far the lowest of his career since his rookie campaign.
“I don’t know, it’s just been weird for me,” the former Seahawk said, via Jay Skurski of the Buffalo News. “This isn’t what I was expecting coming here… I thought I was going to be able to contribute and help this team win.”
Over the course of a five-year stint in Seattle, Ford made 81 appearances, including 64 starts. He proved to be a consistent producer, racking up between 32 and 53 tackles each season between 2019-22. He collected 7.5 sacks during that span, demonstrating an ability to chip in as a pass rusher as well. In his limited playing time this season, however, Ford has recorded just seven tackles and a pair of quarterback pressures.
Buffalo added veteran Linval Joseph last month, and he has established himself as a contributor along the D-line. Joseph, along with Ed Oliver, Jordan Phillips and Tim Settle, are in place atop the depth chart for the Bills. Injuries to one or more members of that quartet will likely be needed for Ford to receive an extended look, although the team’s coaching staff has expressed support for his professionalism in handling the situation.
Given how the season has shaken out so far, it would come as no surprise if Ford were to depart Buffalo in free agency this spring. His market value will take a hit given his lack of production, but it could receive a boost if circumstances were to change for him late in the campaign.
DECEMBER 3: Schefter says Ertz is likely to have a new home within the next couple of days. He does not handicap the sweepstakes and merely reiterates that Baltimore, Buffalo, Kansas City, and Philadelphia have all expressed varying degrees of interest.
A familiar team is expected to be interested. The Eagles are believed to be prepared to pursue an Ertz reunion, Schefter adds. Ertz spent nine seasons in Philadelphia, being dealt to Arizona during the 2021 campaign. With Dallas Goedert still out after arm surgery, the Eagles do not have much in the way of depth behind their starter.
Ertz’s Eagles ending involved a contract dispute. The veteran had aimed for a deal in the range of the pacts given to Travis Kelce and George Kittle, who each signed extensions in 2020. The Eagles refused to move Ertz into that NFL salary bracket but then gave Goedert a deal in that range. Goedert’s four-year, $59MM extension came to pass barely a month after the Eagles sent Ertz to the Cardinals in exchange for a fifth-round pick and cornerback Tay Gowan.
This value gap between Ertz and the Eagles came about in 2020, and the team gave the disgruntled tight end permission to find a trade partner during the 2021 offseason. Ertz did not show for Philly’s offseason program. Given the turbulence that emerged toward the end of Ertz’s Eagles stay, it would certainly be interesting if the sides huddled up about a reunion two years later.
Philadelphia drafted Ertz in the 2013 third round, the team’s first draft under Chip Kelly. GM Howie Roseman was in place when the team drafted the Stanford product and, after a 2015 demotion as Kelly enjoyed an eventful year calling the personnel shots, when the team extended ascending tight end during the 2016 offseason. The Eagles gave Ertz a five-year, $42.5MM extension in January 2016. That deal was in line with upper-echelon TE contracts at the time, with the Patriots’ 2012 Rob Gronkowski extension effectively freezing the market for several years. With Kelce and Kittle moving the AAV bar past $14MM per year in 2020, Ertz became dissatisfied with his terms.
The Eagles have listed Goedert as doubtful for their Week 13 49ers matchup. They rolled out an imposing Ertz-Goedert duo for three-plus seasons, but the younger player has become one of the NFL’s top tight ends since the Eagles made the Ertz trade. Behind Goedert, however, the 10-1 team has little of note. Jack Stoll‘s 27 receiving yards sit second among Philly tight ends. The Eagles have not used August trade acquisition Albert Okwuegbunam much.
While an Ertz Pennsylvania comeback would fill a need for the Super Bowl contender, the Eagles have only $2.7MM in cap space. An Ertz pact likely would not cost much, given his recent run of injuries and the calendar flipping to December. Fit may play the lead role here. Cap space-wise, however, the Chiefs also check in at $2.7MM. The Bills hold $1.5MM, while the Ravens are at $6.4MM.
The Eagles fired Andy Reid three months before drafting Ertz, but with the Chiefs’ receiving corps not moving the needle much this season, a veteran to work alongside Kelce would make sense. A Baltimore fit would be more logical, with Andrews undergoing ankle surgery to address his recent injury. Andrews looms as a long shot to return in the event of a deep Ravens playoff run. Once a presumptive Ertz suitor, the Bills have Dawson Knox moving closer to a return. Since the 2021 offseason when Ertz was available, Buffalo extended Knox and drafted Dalton Kincaid in this year’s first round.
Ertz suffered a torn ACL in November 2022, and while he was back on the field for Week 1 of this season, the Cardinals’ shift to a rebuild made him one of the veterans who did not seem to fit any longer. He ended up on Arizona’s IR due to a quad injury, missing the past five weeks. For the season, Ertz has just 27 receptions for 187 yards and one touchdown. He does hold the Cardinals’ Arizona-years record for yards in a season by a tight end, with 574, and posted five straight 800-plus-yard seasons from 2015-19 in Philly. Ertz’s 579 receptions as an Eagle are also just 10 shy of Hall of Famer Harold Carmichael‘s franchise record.
Von Miller faces a third-degree felony charge of assaulting a pregnant person. The alleged incident occurred at Miller and his girlfriend’s Dallas-area home Wednesday. The Bills defensive end posted bail Thursday night.
A police report indicates Miller and his girlfriend engaged in an argument Wednesday. The dispute escalated to the point Miller is alleged to have told his girlfriend to leave their apartment and, as the woman attempted to, the 34-year-old pass rusher broke her laptop and shoved her. He is later alleged to have put his hands on her neck, applying pressure but not restricting the woman’s ability to breathe, and pulled out a chunk of her hair. Miller’s girlfriend told police she is six weeks pregnant. An arrest warrant went out for Miller, who had left the residence.
Treated at the scene for minor abrasions on her left hand and bruising on her neck, the woman was not hospitalized. The dispute took place after Miller’s girlfriend had said she did not want to travel on her birthday this week, according to WFAA’s Rebecca Lopez and Ryan Osborne. In a 911 call obtained by WFAA, the woman said, “My boyfriend is choking and hitting me. I have bruises all over me. My hair is out.”
Two days after the alleged assault, the woman has since said in a text message (via WFAA), “No one assaulted anyone. This is insane. And sad. We’re fine. Things were blown way out of context. This is actually outrageous!” She described the incident as a “huge misunderstanding” and a “verbal disagreement.”
Miller turned himself into the Glenn Heights Police Department, posting a $5K bond just after 6pm CT on Thursday. Even if this charge ends up being dropped, the future Hall of Fame defender will remain subject to a suspension under the NFL’s personal conduct policy. A ban, which would be Miller’s first under the policy, could have a significant impact on his future in Buffalo.
Miller, who was suspended for a substance-abuse policy violation in 2013, is in the second season of a six-year, $120MM contract. The second of Miller’s two ACL tears has left him — thus far this season, at least — a shell of his pre-injury version. After tallying eight sacks in 11 games last season, Miller does not have any in eight contests this year. After parking Miller on the reserve/PUP list to start the season, the Bills have used the 13th-year veteran exclusively as a backup.
A suspension would give the Bills an easier out in 2024, with $17.1MM of Miller’s ’24 base salary guaranteed for injury and $10.71MM of that amount fully guaranteed. Those guarantees would void in the event of a suspension. If no suspension occurs, the Bills would face a $32.5MM dead-money charge by cutting Miller without a post-June 1 designation; they would be charged $17.1MM in 2024 by using the post-June 1 designation.
The NFL has not placed Miller on the commissioner’s exempt list, which doubles as paid leave. The Bills return from their bye week to play the Chiefs in Week 14.
With Week 13 underway, the picture at the top of the NFL draft board continues to become clearer. Plenty is yet to be determined with respect to the top of the order, however.
The Panthers’ ongoing struggles led to Frank Reich‘s firing, but the Bears own Carolina’s top pick this year due to the 2023 swap which landed Bryce Young via the No. 1 selection. Chicago being able to have the top pick once again – coupled with their own selection landing in the top-10 – would make the Bears a team to watch closely come April. The race for the top two or three slots (and, as such, the ability to draft QBs Caleb Williams and Drake Maye, along with wideout Marvin Harrison Jr.) will also be a key late-season storyline for the Cardinals and Patriots.
The Commanders have lost three straight games, overshadowing a promising season from first-year starter Sam Howell. After deciding to move on from defensive ends Chase Young and Montez Sweat at the trade deadline, the team’s defense has continued to struggle. DC Jack Del Rio is out as a result, and head coach Ron Rivera‘s position is not believed to be on strong footing. A top-five pick could make the job in Washington more attractive presuming a opening arises this offseason.
For non-playoff teams, the draft order will be determined by the inverted 2024 standings — plus a series of tiebreakers, starting with strength of schedule — with playoff squads being slotted by their postseason outcome and regular-season record. Here is an updated look at the current draft order:
Since their 2022 season ended, the Bills have moved on from both DC Leslie Frazier and OC Ken Dorsey. Coordinator dismissals have been known to precede head coach firings, but the Bills look set to give Sean McDermott more time.
A driver in the Bills going from holding major North American sports’ longest playoff drought (from 2000-16) to the team becoming an AFC power, McDermott is in his seventh season as the Bills’ HC. The team has qualified for the playoffs five times in McDermott’s six seasons. Between Buffalo’s fourth consecutive Super Bowl loss to close the 1993 season and McDermott’s 2017 hire, the team had booked a postseason berth four times. While McDermott’s 2023 squad may be underachieving, it appears ownership is taking a big-picture view here.
McDermott is not in danger of being fired, according to The Athletic’s Tim Graham (subscription required). One of the sources informed Graham there is “zero” chance Terry Pegula will fire McDermott, who was hired before GM Brandon Beane came to town. This follows a report that suggested both McDermott and Beane are safe for 2024. While perhaps not on the hot seat, McDermott’s stock has dropped a bit over the past two seasons.
The Super Bowl LVII favorites to start last season, the Bills went 13-3 and beat the three-loss Chiefs. Because of Damar Hamlin‘s life-threatening injury, the NFL canceled the Week 17 Bills-Bengals game. This led to Buffalo being the AFC’s No. 2 seed, but the Bills — who had lost multiple key defensive starters as the season progressed — underwhelmed in the postseason, narrowly clipping the Skylar Thompson-quarterbacked Dolphins and dropping a one-sided divisional-round game to the Bengals. Still facing high expectations this season, the Bills have stumbled to a 6-6 record.
While Buffalo’s point differential (plus-101, fourth in the NFL) does not depict a team sitting on the “In the Hunt” line in playoff graphics, the Bills have endured several letdown losses. Most recently, the Eagles eclipsed a dominant Josh Allen performance by driving for an overtime touchdown, dropping McDermott to 1-6 in career OT games. This followed Buffalo having 12 men on the field to give Denver a second-chance try at a game-winning field goal. ESPN’s FPI gives the Bills, who have again seen core defenders go down with major injuries, a 21% chance to make the playoffs.
The Bills, however, announced through-2027 extensions for McDermott and Beane in June. McDermott’s .624 win percentage remains the highest in franchise history. The recent stumbles aside, Buffalo has won three AFC East titles under the “McBeane” duo’s leadership. The Bills’ two-trade effort in the 2018 first round secured Allen, and the team’s 2020 trade for Stefon Diggs helped turn their quarterback into a superstar. With the Chiefs redoing Patrick Mahomes‘ deal in September, Allen’s $43MM-per-year pact that runs through 2028 may be the team-friendliest of the current QB extensions.
That said, both the Titans and Cardinals bailed on staffers’ extensions recently. Tennessee axed GM Jon Robinson months after extending him through 2027; the Cardinals did the same with Kliff Kingsbury and Steve Keim. Teams have fired HCs after repeated playoff trips and experienced immediate success as a result, as evidenced by the Broncos moving on from John Fox in 2015 and the Buccaneers firing Tony Dungy in 2002. Both teams won the Super Bowl the following year. McDermott has also been fired after a playoff season, when Andy Reid dismissed him as Eagles DC despite the team winning the NFC East in 2010. That move led McDermott to Carolina. As it stands now, however, the Bills are not planning to shake up their operation.
Pegula is believed to still hold McDermott, 49, in high regard, Graham adds. Pegula has only fired one coach since buying the Bills in 2014. He axed Rex Ryan during the 2016 campaign. The team aimed to keep Ryan’s predecessor, Doug Marrone, but he exercised a $4MM payout clause that freed him from his contract in the event an ownership change occurred during his tenure. Marrone made the unusual move to leave an HC job for a position coach gig (in Jacksonville, though he later became HC). Pegula fired GM Doug Whaley following the 2017 draft, however, hiring ex-McDermott Panthers coworker Beane soon after.
6:34pm: Miller has turned himself in to the Glenn Heights Police and has already departed after posting a $5K bond, according to Josina Anderson.
10:34am: The Dallas Police Department has issued an arrest warrant for Bills defensive end Von Miller, according to WFAA’s Rebecca Lopez. This is in connection with alleged domestic violence.
Miller’s longtime girlfriend accused the 34-year-old pass rusher of assaulting her in their Dallas home Wednesday. Miller has not been arrested, but police are prepared to charge him with assault of a pregnant person, which Lopez notes is a third-degree felony in Texas. A Dallas-area native, Miller is in his second season with the Bills.
This incident occurred around 11am Wednesday, according to Spectrum News 1’s Jon Scott, and a preliminary investigation indicates Miller and his girlfriend engaged in a verbal argument before the accused player “assaulted the victim.” Miller left the scene before officers’ arrival. The woman was not transported to a hospital but received treatment for minor injuries, per Scott.
The Dallas Morning News has released additional details. During an argument between Miller and his girlfriend, the woman slamming the door made Miller “visibly angry,” according to a police report (via the Morning News’ Jamie Landers and Kelli Smith). Once Miller told the woman to leave, he is alleged to have pushed her and stomped on her laptop. Miller then allegedly pulled out a chunk of the woman’s hair and put his hands on her neck, applying pressure, according to Landers and Smith.
The affidavit indicates the woman had “minor abrasions” on her left hand, along with bruising on her abdomen, neck and left bicep. The indication by the woman she was calling the police prompted Miller to leave the couple’s apartment, per the Morning News. Miller’s girlfriend told police she is six weeks pregnant.
In 2021, a Colorado police department’s unspecified investigation into Miller did not produce charges. No details emerged surrounding that offseason issue, and Miller was not suspended. The details here are obviously problematic, and past NFL decisions have shown the league’s personal conduct policy does not require a conviction for a suspension to take place.
Miller signed a six-year, $120MM deal with the Bills in 2022, picking Buffalo over pursuits from the Rams and Cowboys. The future Hall of Famer has attempted to move past the ACL tear sustained on Thanksgiving 2022, but he has struggled in an effort to do so. In eight games, the 13th-year veteran does not have a sack. He has totaled just two tackles, working strictly as a backup for the Bills.
The Bills released a statement confirming they are aware of the arrest warrant. The team is currently in its bye week. In a statement, the NFL declined to comment about Miller’s potential placement on the commissioner’s exempt list, which would move him off the roster — with pay — while this matter is sorted out.
Following Miller’s second Super Bowl win, he prioritized a deal that guaranteed money into the third season of a contract. Neither the Cowboys nor Rams were willing to do so, but the Bills signing off on this aim finished off what was viewed at the time as a free agency win. Miller started off well in Buffalo, recording eight sacks in 11 games. But he has not recaptured the form he showed before his second ACL tear. Miller successfully bounced back from his first tear — in December 2013 — to become the best pass rusher in Broncos history and drive the team to a Super Bowl 50 win. Denver extended him at a defender-record rate the following offseason.
A suspension in connection with this alleged incident would put the veteran’s 2024 guaranteed money in jeopardy. Miller’s $17.1MM 2024 base salary is guaranteed for injury, and $10.71MM of that is fully guaranteed. A suspension would threaten to void those guarantees. Given Miller’s current form, a suspension would make it easier for the Bills to cut their losses. But it is too early to tell how this situation will play out.
November 21st, 2023 at 11:18am CST by Sam Robinson
Through 11 weeks, this NFL season has not produced an MVP favorite. Oddsmakers have slotted a number of usual suspects as frontrunners, but the stretch run will be important to generating a lead candidate.
No non-quarterback has won this award since Adrian Peterson‘s 2,097-yard rushing season edged Peyton Manning‘s Broncos debut in 2012, though J.J. Watt did finish second in voting in 2014. A quarterback will be expected to claim the honors this season, but that player has not declared himself just yet.
Two of the favorites faced off Monday night, with Jalen Hurts‘ Eagles besting the Chiefs in a Super Bowl LVII rematch. The Chiefs stifled Hurts for much of Philadelphia’s 21-17 win, but the dual-threat passer came through late. He is also the quarterback on the NFL’s only one-loss team. Hurts would have represented a strong MVP challenger to Patrick Mahomes last year, but a late-season shoulder injury led to the Chiefs superstar pulling away. QBR ranks the Super Bowl LVII QBs fifth and sixth, respectively, with Mahomes slipping to No. 5 after Kansas City’s loss.
After Hurts’ breakthrough 2022, the Eagles gave the fourth-year QB a then-record five-year, $255MM extension — one that set the market for Lamar Jackson, Justin Herbert and Joe Burrow. Hurts has accounted for 24 touchdowns — nine on the ground, as he makes a case as the most unstoppable short-yardage QB rusher in NFL history — and has upped his completion percentage (68.5) from 2022.
Mahomes responded to the Tyreek Hill trade by notching the first MVP-Super Bowl MVP since Kurt Warner in 1999, and the Chiefs updated his contract to fall in line with the market Hurts helped set. Kansas City, however, has seen its oft-questioned wide receiver setup play a big role in both its home losses this year. Mahomes ranks 20th in yards per attempt, at 6.9; he cleared eight in each of his two MVP campaigns. With Travis Kelce in his age-34 season, will the seventh-year QB be able to overcome a suspect receiver setup?
Brock Purdy is leading the NFL (by a wide margin, at 9.7) in yards per attempt. After a midseason slump, Purdy has put together two strong games. He accomplished the 49ers’ first perfect passer rating in a game since 1989. Last year’s Mr. Irrelevant has been a revelation for the 49ers, who have his seventh-round contract on the books through 2025. Purdy also leads the league in QBR, providing an efficient season while blessed with an elite skill-position corps. Although this skill group could end up working against Purdy, he would become the most unlikely MVP since Warner.
No. 2 in QBR, Dak Prescott has put together a strong stretch since the Cowboys endured a blowout loss in San Francisco. After four straight one-touchdown showings, the eighth-year Cowboys starter has 13 TD tosses over his past four games. At this pace, the 30-year-old passer will be in position for another monster contract. With the franchise tag off the table and a $59MM cap hit awaiting in his 2024 contract year, Prescott is in one of the most player-friendly extension positions in league history.
Jackson sits ninth in QBR but has the Ravens perched as the AFC’s top seed for the time being. Given a $52MM-per-year deal that differed from his peers’ 2023 re-ups — in that it contains no extra years of control due to it coming after a Ravens franchise tag — Jackson is still operating a run-oriented offense. His 12 touchdown passes rank 16th, though his yards per attempt (8.1) and completion rate (69.5) figures are in the top six. Among this year’s contenders, Jackson joins Mahomes as the only former MVPs.
No rookie has claimed this award since Jim Brown in 1957, but this particular season does keep the door slightly ajar for C.J. Stroud. Almost no one expected the Texans to be in the playoff race, and the team sweeping the Jaguars would move an AFC South title closer to reality. Stroud has run away with the Offensive Rookie of the Year race, doing so despite numerous O-line injuries. The No. 2 overall pick’s 2,962 passing yards sit second, but QBR places the Ohio State product 12th. Stroud’s three-INT game against the Cardinals hurt his cause, but the Houston rookie still has some time to make a historic push.
While Jared Goff (seventh in QBR) was once the throw-in in a trade that keyed a Matthew Stafford-led Rams Super Bowl charge, the Lions are 8-2 for the first time in 61 years. Detroit is 1-2 against teams with winning records, but a favorable schedule down the stretch stands to allow Goff — in Year 2 with OC Ben Johnson running the show — to make a case. The Lions ending up with home-field advantage in the NFC would obviously strengthen the former No. 1 overall pick’s cause. Regardless, the 29-year-old QB has moved into position for a lucrative Lions extension.
How the AFC East plays out stands to produce a contender. Although Josh Allen‘s turnover issues helped lead the Bills to fire OC Ken Dorsey, the sixth-year superstar leads the NFL with 22 TD passes (while pacing the league with 12 picks) while adding seven more scores on the ground. Tua Tagovailoa ranks just 10th in QBR — six spots behind Allen — and the Dolphins have fallen short in matchups against the Bills, Chiefs and Eagles. That said, the Bills have five losses to the Dolphins’ three. Miami first-place scoring ranking will obviously benefit its ascending passer, though Tua could conceivably split votes with Hill.
No wide receiver has ever won MVP acclaim, and Hill’s off-field history will not help his case. But his impact on the Dolphins has been undeniable. The former Chiefs speed merchant has changed Tagovailoa’s career trajectory, and the eighth-year wideout leads the NFL with 1,222 receiving yards — in front by 209 — despite the Dolphins already resting during a bye week. While Jerry Rice and Calvin Johnson could not parlay their receiving yardage records into MVP honors — respectively losing out to Brett Favre (1995) and Peterson (2012) — this QB pace persisting would stand to keep Hill going. Christian McCaffrey also makes sense as a candidate. His midseason 2022 arrival catalyzed the 49ers, and despite missing a game, the ex-Panthers extension recipient leads the NFL with 825 rushing yards. No other RB has posted more than 700, and this would obviously be an interesting year to see a running back emerge as a true MVP candidate.
Could this be the year a defender sneaks through? Only Alan Page and Lawrence Taylor have done so, but with no QB residing as a clear frontrunner, is a door ajar for Myles Garrett or T.J. Watt powering offensively limited teams? Is there an off-grid player who shapes up as a late-season threat? Vote in PFR’s latest poll and weigh in with your thoughts on the race in the comments section.
The Bills entered the 2023 season on the short list of Super Bowl favorites, but Buffalo currently sports a 5-5 record and has a difficult schedule over the remainder of the campaign. With the team already having moved on from offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey, it is fair to wonder if even more significant changes could be on the horizon.
Both Jason La Canfora of the Washington Post and Dianna Russini of The Athletic (subscription required) used the terms “scapegoat” and “scapegoating” when describing Dorsey’s recent dismissal. As Russini writes, head coach Sean McDermott told reporters that he fired Dorsey following the Bills’ narrow loss to the Broncos last week because he felt his team could not walk back into the locker room without knowing something had changed. That is about as blunt as a coach will be when it comes to publicly assigning blame, and since the team has bid adieu to both of its top coordinators in less than a year — longtime defensive coordinator Leslie Frazierstepped away in February — the pressure is squarely on McDermott to right the ship (interestingly, La Canfora said the Frazier situation was fueled by panic-stricken scapegoating, which suggests that his exit was not entirely voluntary, as had been presumed).
Scapegoat or not, Jay Skurski of The Buffalo News believes it was the right call to part ways with Dorsey, whose scheme lacked creativity and whose play-calling had become predictable in Skurski’s eyes. That said, while Skurski believes McDermott will be on the hot seat if the Bills miss the playoffs, he does not believe McDermott will be fired. After all, Buffalo snapped its 17-year playoff drought in McDermott’s first season at the helm in 2017, and McDermott has posted a 67-40 regular season record while failing to qualify for the postseason field just once from 2017-22. La Canfora also hears from rival execs that McDermott has built up enough goodwill to survive one disappointing campaign.
However, additional staff shakeups should be expected. McDermott took over defensive play-calling duties in the wake of Frazier’s departure, and the Bills have slipped from sixth in the league in total defense in 2022 to 17th in 2023. While injuries have certainly played a major role in that regression, McDermott’s failed decision to call an all-out blitz in the Denver loss and the subsequent special teams snafu that allowed the Broncos a second chance at the game-winning field goal support one rival GM’s belief — as articulated to La Canfora — that Bills ownership will not allow McDermott to continue as de facto DC and defensive play-caller in 2024.
That same general manager does not believe that the Buffalo offense will find its footing under interim offensive coordinator Joe Brady. The GM said Brady’s scheme was proven to be a flawed one during his brief stint as OC with the Panthers, though Albert Breer of SI.com reports that most people within Carolina’s organization saw Brady as an imaginative and detail-oriented coach, and that Brady’s ouster was fueled primarily by a personality clash with then-head coach Matt Rhule. Still, should the Bills’ offense falter under Brady’s stewardship, Skurski believes McDermott will also be looking for a new offensive coordinator in the offseason.
GM Brandon Beane, who came to Buffalo alongside McDermott in 2017, also seems like a good bet to keep his job, as Skurski suggests. While La Canfora reports that team ownership is getting a bit restless, it should be noted that both Beane and McDermott were handed thru-2027 extensions earlier this year. Their contract situations and their track records may afford them the chance to return the Bills to powerhouse status, but if Buffalo misses the playoffs in 2023 and does not exhibit marked improvement in 2024, Beane and McDermott will likely be looking for new employment.
Knox, who has been out since October with a wrist injury, has missed the past five games. The Bills will have three weeks from Wednesday to activate their highly paid tight end. Buffalo is also designating cornerback Kaiir Elam for return. The struggling former first-round pick has missed time due to an ankle injury.
