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Bills Sign Cole Bishop, Seven Other Draft Picks

June 4th, 2024 at 7:32pm CST by Ben Levine

The Bills signed a significant portion of their draft class today. The team announced that they’ve signed the following players to rookie contracts:

  • Round 2, No. 60: Cole Bishop (S, Utah)
  • Round 3, No. 95 (from Chiefs): DeWayne Carter, DT (Duke)
  • Round 4, No. 128: Ray Davis (RB, Kentucky)
  • Round 5, No. 141 (from Giants through Panthers): Sedrick Van Pran-Granger (C, Georgia)
  • Round 5, No. 160 (from Packers): Edefuan Ulofoshio (LB, Washington)
  • Round 5, No. 168 (from Saints): Javon Solomon (EDGE, Troy)
  • Round 6, No. 204: Tylan Grable (T, Central Florida)
  • Round 6, No. 219 (from Packers): Daequan Hardy (CB, Penn State)

The team previously signed seventh-round offensive tackle Travis Clayton. Second-round wide receiver (and the Bills’ top-overall pick) Keon Coleman is the only remaining unsigned rookie.

Cole Bishop had a standout career at Utah that saw him collect 197 tackles and 7.5 sacks. He earned second-team All-Pac-12 honors this past season, finishing with 60 stops, 6.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, and two interceptions. That performance helped establish Bishop as one of the draft’s top safety prospects, and he was ultimately selected by the Bills with the 60th-overall pick.

After releasing Jordan Poyer and with Micah Hyde remaining unsigned, the Bills should have an opening for Bishop in the starting lineup. Last year’s third safety, Taylor Rapp, is temporarily penciled in as the other starting safety, so even if the Bills add some reinforcement, there’s a good chance Bishop will still see significant playing time.

11 Teams Gain Cap Space From Post-June 1 Cuts

June 2nd, 2024 at 9:49pm CST by Sam Robinson

Early June no longer means a mid-offseason update to the free agent market, as teams can designate players as post-June 1 cuts months in advance of that date. But June 2 does bring an annually important date in terms of finances. This year, 11 teams will see their cap-space figures expand thanks to post-June 1 release designations. One other club — the Broncos — used a post-June 1 designation, but they will not save any money from the historic Russell Wilson release.

Teams are permitted to designate two players as post-June 1 cuts ahead of that date. This designation spreads a player’s dead money hit over two years as opposed to a 2024-only blow. Courtesy of Spotrac, here are the savings this year’s teams to make post-June 1 designations will receive:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Las Vegas Raiders

Miami Dolphins

New Orleans Saints

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Broncos’ overall Wilson cap hit, even with the quarterback’s $1.21MM Steelers salary factoring into the equation, will more than double any other single-player dead money number in NFL history. The now-Sean Payton-led Broncos, after a failed effort to move Wilson’s guarantee vesting date beyond 2024, will take their medicine for bailing 18 months after authorizing a five-year, $245MM extension. Denver will absorb the lion’s share of the dead money this year, taking on $53MM. The team will not receive the cap credit from Wilson’s Steelers deal until 2025, per Spotrac.

Annually making exhaustive efforts to move under the cap, the Saints will be hit with more than $30MM in total dead cap from the Thomas and Winston contracts. Redesigning both in 2023, the Saints will take on $8.9MM in 2024 dead money on Thomas and $3.4MM on the Winston pact. Mickey Loomis‘ operation is once again at the bottom of the NFL in future cap space, being projected to come in more than $84MM over the 2025 cap.

Baltimore structured Beckham’s one-year, $15MM contract to void, and the team will take on more than $10MM in total dead money on it. The bulk of that will come in 2025; the post-June 1 cut will produce $2.8MM in 2024 dead cap this year.

NFL Front Office Updates: Pats, Bills, Bucs

June 2nd, 2024 at 5:40pm CST by Ely Allen

Teams around the league continue to make adjustments here and there to their front office and scouting staffs. One such team is the Patriots, who are operating under new leadership at the top of the front office with Bill Belichick departed.

New England is reportedly parting ways with pro scout Joe Anile, according to Neil Stratton of SucceedinFootball.com. Anile joined the Patriots after five years in the Jaguars’ front office. He only spent one year as a pro scout in Jacksonville before leaving for the same role in New England.

Anile is the nephew of longtime NFL scout and front office executive Dom Anile, who rose to the rank of assistant general manager of the Colts back in the mid-2000’s.

Here are a couple of other front office updates from around the league, starting with a rival of the Anile’s former team:

  • The Bills will see football analyst Evan Weiss depart, per ESPN’s Seth Walder. Weiss will be departing the NFL ranks of football analytics in favor of a job at FanDuel, presumably doing a bit of the same work. The Northwestern grad had been with Buffalo since joining the team as an intern in 2018.
  • Lastly, the Buccaneers are bringing on a new hire in Jeremiah Bogan, according to a post from Bogan’s account on X. Bogan’s announcement revealed that he will be hired on as a scouting assistant. He joins Tampa Bay’s scouting department after spending the last four months as director of player personnel and NFL liaison at UConn. Prior to that, he spent the 2023 season as assistant director of player personnel at LSU while also serving as a national scout for the East/West Shrine Bowl.

Patriots Reportedly Made Strong Push for WR Xavier Worthy

June 2nd, 2024 at 8:15am CST by Rory Parks

The Patriots, in an effort to weaponize their offense and give future starting quarterback Drake Maye some receiving talent whenever he takes the reins, selected two receivers in April’s WR-rich draft: Ja’Lynn Polk (No. 37 overall) and Javon Baker (No. 110 overall). The Polk selection in particular has been the subject of significant discussion among prominent NFL reporters and talking heads.

That has nothing to do with Polk himself. Rather, we heard early last month that New England, which originally held the No. 34 overall pick, had attempted to move up to No. 32 to acquire South Carolina wideout Xavier Legette. And on a recent episode of The Pat McAfee Show, former NFL exec Michael Lombardi said the Patriots were also targeting a different Xavier: Texas receiver and 40-yard dash record holder Xavier Worthy (video link).

The Bills, the original owners of the No. 28 pick, traded that choice to the Chiefs, allowing Buffalo’s playoff tormentors to add Worthy to Patrick Mahomes‘ arsenal. However, Lombardi says that New England was “in high-speed pursuit of Worthy” and “wanted Worthy badly.” Lombardi appears to suggest that while the Patriots made the Bills an offer for the No. 28 choice, Kansas City’s offer — the Nos. 32, 95, and 221 selections in exchange for Nos. 28, 133, and 248 — was more valuable than New England’s.

If that’s the case, one can understand why Bills GM Brandon Beane would have accepted the Chiefs’ proposal, especially since the Patriots and Bills are division rivals. That said, New England is firmly in rebuild mode while Buffalo has immediate championship aspirations and has been repeatedly thwarted by KC in its title pursuits, so handing the Chiefs a player that many believe could become Tyreek Hill 2.0 in Andy Reid‘s offense is a move that will come under plenty of scrutiny should Worthy live up to his potential.

In addition to Worthy, the Bills denied the Patriots a shot at Legette and flipped the No. 32 pick to the Panthers, who moved up one spot to nab the former Gamecock (Buffalo, which had a major WR need of its own, ended up selecting Florida State receiver Keon Coleman with the No. 33 choice that originally belonged to Carolina). After the Chiefs chose Worthy, five wideouts were drafted between Nos. 31 and 37. The Patriots had hoped to move toward the front of that wave, but after Legette went off the board, they stepped back by moving from No. 34 to 37 and landing Polk.

The receivers selected during the late first through early second rounds of the 2024 draft would be compared to each other anyway as their careers unfold, though the fact that multiple clubs were jockeying for position to select specific pass catchers within that window adds another layer of intrigue to those future conversations. At present, it looks as if the Patriots missed out on several of their top targets, but Polk has plenty of upside and may eventually make New England happy that it was unable to swing a draft-day deal with its AFC East foe.

Bills Sign Olympic Gold Medal Wrestler Gable Steveson

May 31st, 2024 at 10:23pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Bills have made an intrigue addition to their offseason roster. The team announced on Firday that Olympic gold medal wrestler Gable Steveson has been signed. He will aim to make the jump to the NFL as a defensive lineman.

Steveson enjoyed a decorated career at Minnesota, winning three conference championships and a pair of national titles. He was named the Big Ten Athlete of the Year in 2022, and twice took home the Dan Hodge Trophy as the nation’s top wrestler. The 24-year-old won gold at the Tokyo Olympics for freestyle wrestling. He joins seventh-round rookie Travis Clayton (a former rugby player drafted in the seventh round in 2024) as a player aiming to lock down a roster spot via an unusual route.

“I have been fortunate to compete at the highest level of competition in my sport but am looking forward to the challenge of seeing how my wrestling skills may translate to football,” Steveson said (via ESPN’s Adam Schefter). “I am grateful to [head coach] [Sean] McDermott, [general manager] Brandon Beane and the Buffalo Bills organization for giving me this opportunity.”

Steveson’s agent indicated a recent workout with the Bills led to interest from other NFL teams as well. He has elected to sign with Buffalo, though, a team with a coach (McDermott) who has a background as a high school champion wrestler. The Bills will use the remainder of the offseason to begin what will be a steep development process likely involving time on the practice squad during the 2024 season.

Steveson will attempt to join the likes of Lam Jones and James Jett as athletes who won Olympic gold before playing in the NFL (although the latter two did so as sprinters). Longtime Cowboys wideout Bob Hayes – a member of the United States Olympic Hall of Fame as well as the Pro Football Hall of Fame – is the only athlete to win both an Olympic gold and a Super Bowl to date.

In a corresponding move, the Bills released punter Matt Haack. The veteran served as Buffalo’s punter during the 2021 season before moving on to the Colts the following year. He returned this offseason, but today’s move will leave him on the move once again. Veteran Sam Martin and undrafted rookie Jack Browning remain in place as the team’s punting options moving forward.

Bills GM Brandon Beane Addresses Stefon Diggs Trade

May 28th, 2024 at 3:10pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Bills’ receiver room was positioned to undergo change during the early portion of free agency with Gabe Davis expectedly departing on the open market. Buffalo followed that up with the blockbuster deal which sent Stefon Diggs to the Texans.

The Bills originally intended to keep Diggs in the fold for at least one more season, viewing the 30-year-old as still being capable of producing like a No. 1. However, the Texans’ willingness to acquire Diggs (with a return including a 2025 second-round pick) changed Buffalo’s approach. The latter team took on a dead money charge of just over $31MM to move on from Diggs.

Buffalo could have spread that charge out over multiple seasons, but doing so would have limited the team’s spending power in consecutive offseasons. When speaking about the trade, Bills general manager Brandon Beane confirmed an upfront approach with respect to dead money was the team’s preference once the decision was made to move on from Diggs.

“A player of his caliber, you weigh a lot of things in those situations,” Beane said during an appearance on The Athletic Football Show (video link). “But ultimately, we just talked about the cap. I don’t need to go through all the reasons why we decided to go ahead and do that. I would say, from a cap standpoint, we decided just to go ahead and eat it now. We think we can compete and do what we need to do by eating it now. And not next year.

“Because if we didn’t, if we tried to come up with some way to split it up too many different ways, then now it’s just like that albatross hanging on your neck all year. You look at your cap and you’re going, ‘Look how much money we still have dead.'”

The Bills have added a number of new faces at the receiver spot this offseason, including Curtis Samuel, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Mack Hollins and Chase Claypool. After trading out of the first round, Buffalo also added Keon Coleman with a selection endorsed by quarterback Josh Allen. Those newcomers, along with returnee Khalil Shakir, will be counted on to replace Diggs and Davis’ production.

Of course, Diggs is now on track for free agency next offseason with Houston having removed the post-2024 years of his contract. The four-time Pro Bowler’s level of play with the Texans will be a key storyline related to this trade, as will its financial implications (or lack thereof, regarding future years) from the Bills’ perspective.

AFC East Rumors: Patriots OL, Saleh, Milano

May 26th, 2024 at 6:38pm CST by Ely Allen

With veteran left tackle Trent Brown departing in free agency, the Patriots are looking to fill his old role this offseason. As organized team activities have opened, free agent addition Chukwuma Okorafor has been taking first-team snaps at the position, according to Mike Reiss of ESPN.

Okorafor, a former third-round pick for the Steelers, has spent the first six years of his NFL career in Pittsburgh. His first two seasons only saw the Nigerian find starting time as an injury replacement. After Okorafor finished out his rookie contract with two straight seasons as a starter, the Steelers rewarded him with a three-year, $29.25MM extension. After losing his starting job to first-round rookie Broderick Jones last year, though, the Steelers released Okorafor to free agency.

Now in New England, Okorafor will have the opportunity to re-earn a starting job and fill in for the departed Brown. Okorafor’s competition for the job will be Vederian Lowe, who started eight games in injury relief for the Patriots last year, and third-round rookie Caedan Wallace out of Penn State.

In additional offensive line news out of New England OTAs, second-year lineman Atonio Mafi was seen taking snaps at center behind starter David Andrews. Mafi, a former fifth-round pick who converted from defensive line to guard at UCLA, had yet to seen time at center while making five starts at left guard as a rookie. New offensive line coach Scott Peters and assistant offensive line coach Robert Kugler seem to have some interest in expanding his role on the line.

Here are some other rumors coming out of the AFC East:

  • We had reported previously that Jets head coach Robert Saleh had explored the idea of reducing the role of offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett. This exploration came after the seeing Hackett seemingly lost for options after the loss of starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers early in the season. A more recent report from ESPN’s Rich Cimini claims that Saleh is now taking a deeper role in the offense himself. The former defensive coordinator seems to be keeping a close eye over the shoulder of Hackett as their jobs both heat up in 2024.
  • Long-time Bills starting linebacker Matt Milano missed 12 games after suffering a season-ending knee injury last year. The team is looking to pair Milano back up with last year’s emergent starter Terrel Bernard, but that won’t be happening in OTAs. According to Alaina Getzenberg of ESPN, Milano is on schedule with his recovery, but “it’s probably going to be more closer to training camp until” he sees the field again.

Sean McDermott: Bills DC Bobby Babich To Receive Look As Play Caller

May 25th, 2024 at 8:15pm CST by Adam La Rose

Leslie Frazier served as the Bills’ defensive coordinator from 2017-22, but he was away from the team last season and he has not returned for the coming campaign. Buffalo has a replacement in place (Bobby Babich), but it remains to be seen if he will call plays.

Babich – promoted from the role of linebackers coach in January – has been with the team since 2017, and he drew coordinator interest from outside teams during the 2024 hiring cycle. This Buffalo gig represents his first DC posting in the NFL, however, and Babich has not called a defense at either the college or pro levels to this point in his career.

Head coach Sean McDermott called plays last year, and he said earlier this month that a final decision will not be made on that front until at least training camp. Whichever direction the team goes, the coach guiding the unit will face considerable expectations. To little surprise, though, Babich will receive the chance to handle play-calling duties this summer before McDermott elects to either hand over the reins or repeat his workload from 2023.

“There’s going to be intentionality on my part to make sure, whether it’s practice or preseason games, that Bobby’s given that opportunity,” McDermott said, via The Athletic’s Tim Graham (subscription required). “So it’s just a matter of when and for how long.”

It would come as little surprise if Babich were to operate as play caller during Buffalo’s exhibition games in addition to training camp practices. McDermott has plenty of experience in that regard dating back to his own DC tenures, and he guided the Bills to a fourth-place finish in scoring defense last year. The team has generally fared well on that side of the ball during the McDermott era (although their postseason performances have not matched regular season showings), and his familiarity with the role could help as a transition to plenty of new faces is made in 2024.

The likes of Tre’Davious White, Leonard Floyd, Tyrel Dodson, Jordan Poyer and (at least for now) Micah Hyde are no longer in the picture for Buffalo’s defense. One of the team’s top storylines will be their ability to fill the vacancies created by those absences, and the decision on play caller will of course be a key topic to follow during the summer. Babich will receive at least a brief look before McDermott makes a final decision.

Poll: Which Team Is Chiefs’ Top AFC Threat?

May 23rd, 2024 at 9:59pm CST by Sam Robinson

Representation in Super Bowls has not stretched wide in the AFC over the past decade. Since 2013, all of four franchises — the Broncos, Patriots, Chiefs and Bengals — have represented the conference in Super Bowls. The NFC in that span has produced seven Super Bowl entrants.

Since 2001, QB-driven graphics regarding Super Bowl participation primarily feature four faces — those of Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger and Patrick Mahomes. An AFC team employing a QB outside that quartet has only reached the Super Bowl three times (2002 Raiders, 2012 Ravens, 2021 Bengals) in 24 seasons. As the NFC has rolled out 21 Super Bowl QB starters since Brady’s first appearance, it has been quite difficult for outsiders to forge a path in the AFC.

This space used to ask which team was best positioned to KO the Patriots in the AFC. The Chiefs ended up getting there, first loading up around Mahomes’ rookie contract before assembling a low-cost (but highly effective) defense to help a team suddenly limited — beyond the Mahomes-Travis Kelce connection’s enduring brilliance — following the Tyreek Hill trade. As the Chiefs aim to become the first team since the mid-1960s Packers to threepeat (part one of Green Bay’s offering occurred before the Super Bowl era), which conference challenger is best built to disrupt their path back?

The AFC North appears a good place to start. The Ravens open the season with an Arrowhead Stadium trek and held the AFC’s No. 1 seed last season. Lamar Jackson skated to MVP honors, and Mike Macdonald‘s defense led the league in scoring. But familiar issues resurfaced for the team in the AFC championship game. An oddly pass-focused Baltimore effort ground to a halt, as Jackson committed two turnovers. Macdonald has since departed — the first Ravens coordinator to leave for a head coaching job since Gary Kubiak in 2015 — and ex-Baltimore linebacker Zach Orr moved into the DC post. The team also lost three starters up front. Although quiet in free agency (in terms of outside hires) beyond the splashy Derrick Henry addition, the Ravens added likely cornerback starter Nate Wiggins in Round 1 and kept Justin Madubuike off the market via the franchise tag and a quick extension.

Cincinnati has shown superior mettle against Kansas City since Joe Burrow‘s arrival, beating the Chiefs thrice in 2022 before falling as both teams battled key injuries in the January 2023 AFC title game. The Bengals losing Burrow in November removed a key obstacle in the Chiefs’ path, but the NFL’s highest-paid player is back. The team also retained Tee Higgins, being the only team left to have a player on the tag, and added new tackles in Trent Brown and Amarius Mims to join Orlando Brown Jr. The team revamped its safety corps by bringing back Vonn Bell and adding ex-Raven Geno Stone. Not many glaring issues are present in Cincinnati’s lineup, with longer-term matters — the receiver situation chief among them — the top roster storylines here.

Creeping into the playoffs despite a host of high-profile injuries on offense, the Browns showed their roster strength by shrugging off the injuries to Deshaun Watson, Nick Chubb and their tackles. Cleveland acquired Jerry Jeudy via trade and then extended him, and other than adding some Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah supporting pieces at linebacker, returns the starters from a No. 1-ranked pass defense. Watson’s struggles, for the most part, since arriving via trade will continue to define where the Browns can venture.

Although the Bills parted with Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis, looking past Buffalo — a four-time reigning AFC East champion that defeated the Chiefs in three straight seasons in Kansas City — would probably be a mistake. The Bills made some cost-cutting moves, most notably disbanding its seven-year safety duo of Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer (though Hyde remains in play to return), and saw concerning form from Von Miller following his second ACL tear. The Bills also lost Leonard Floyd in free agency. Focus will understandably be aimed at Buffalo’s WR crew, which now houses Curtis Samuel, second-rounder Keon Coleman and ex-Chief Marquez Valdes-Scantling (who certainly places a premium on QB talent). The Chiefs’ issues staffing their wideout spots last year provided a lingering problem; will the Bills make a higher-profile addition down the line?

With their backs to the wall, the Joe Douglas–Robert Saleh regime will count on Aaron Rodgers belatedly delivering. The duo may or may not have attempted to strip power from OC Nathaniel Hackett, who is coming off a brutal two-year stretch. The Jets effectively replaced Bryce Huff with a more proven rusher in Haason Reddick and added Mike Williams as a supporting-caster on offense. The team will hope its pair of 33-year-old tackles — Tyron Smith, Morgan Moses — holds up, while Olu Fashanu looms as a long term tackle piece and potential short-term guard. Can the Jets do enough offensively to capitalize on their defensive nucleus of the past two seasons?

The Texans sit as a fascinating piece of this puzzle, given their outlook going into the first three seasons of Nick Caserio‘s GM tenure. After low-key offseasons from 2021-23, Houston added Diggs and a few notable defenders to the DeMeco Ryans-led roster. Danielle Hunter and Denico Autry join ex-Ryans 49ers pupil Azeez Al-Shaair as key defensive additions. Although Diggs struggled down the stretch in his final Bills season, he certainly played a lead role in elevating Josh Allen‘s stature. The Texans, who have C.J. Stroud on a rookie deal through at least 2025, will hope the Pro Bowler pairs well with Nico Collins and the returning Tank Dell.

Miami and Jacksonville’s roster equations figure to change soon, as respective extension talks with Tua Tagovailoa and Trevor Lawrence are ongoing. The Dolphins have faded badly under Mike McDaniel and did not seriously threaten the Chiefs in a frigid wild-card game, though they have obviously shown elite offensive capabilities in the right environment. Handing the play-calling reins to OC Press Taylor in 2023, the Jaguars did not build on a strong 2022 finish. The Steelers also present one of the highest floors in NFL history, and they have upgraded at quarterback by adding two options — in Justin Fields and likely starter Russell Wilson. But they also have not won a playoff game since the six-field goal offering against the Chiefs — a game that represented the final shove for Kansas City to trade up for Mahoemes — seven years ago.

The Texans emerged from the NFL’s basement last season. Is there a stealth contender lurking? The Chiefs’ division does not look particularly imposing, once again, though Jim Harbaugh now overseeing Justin Herbert is certainly an interesting development. The national championship-winning HC has authored turnarounds everywhere he has gone.

No team has qualified for five Super Bowls in a six-year period, and none of the Super Bowl era’s threepeat efforts have reached the final stage; the 1990 49ers came closest, losing on a last-second field goal in the NFC title game. Who is poised to be the best Chiefs deterrent on their path to a threepeat? Vote in PFR’s latest poll and weigh in with your AFC thoughts in the comments section.

Who is the Chiefs' top AFC challenger?
Baltimore Ravens 23.99% (722 votes)
Cincinnati Bengals 17.48% (526 votes)
Houston Texans 13.49% (406 votes)
Buffalo Bills 8.14% (245 votes)
Pittsburgh Steelers 6.54% (197 votes)
Miami Dolphins 5.75% (173 votes)
New York Jets 4.65% (140 votes)
Cleveland Browns 4.42% (133 votes)
Los Angeles Chargers 4.05% (122 votes)
Las Vegas Raiders 3.39% (102 votes)
New England Patriots 2.39% (72 votes)
Indianapolis Colts 2.19% (66 votes)
Denver Broncos 1.40% (42 votes)
Jacksonville Jaguars 1.06% (32 votes)
Tennessee Titans 1.06% (32 votes)
Total Votes: 3,010

AFC East Notes: Bills, Hackett, Dolphins

May 23rd, 2024 at 9:55pm CST by Sam Robinson

Terry and Kim Pegula shared equal ownership of the Bills upon buying the team in 2014, but the heart attack Kim suffered in June 2022 has brought a belated update to that status. A February 2023 Terry Pegula filing led to Kim being ruled incapacitated and her husband serving as her guardian, according to The Athletic’s Tim Graham (subscription required). Kim Pegula is not expected to be back with the Bills, Graham reports. Days after the ruling, Laura Pegula — Terry’s daughter from his first marriage — represented the Bills at owners meetings. Soon after, Terry transferred a “small percentage” of the team to Laura to comply with NFL rules regarding succession planning, Graham adds.

While this is an obviously concerning update regarding the health of Kim Pegula, 54, Graham indicates many Bills employees are in the dark about her prognosis and Laura Pegula’s role. Each May, teams are required to have succession plans in place. Previously, Kim was set to act as Bills principal owner as a bridge to the couple’s children; Terry is 73. The succession setup may soon become an issue. Bills employees had assumed tennis prodigy Jessica Pegula, Kim’s oldest child and the WTA’s No. 5-ranked player, and her husband, Taylor Gahagen, would eventually run the team. Jessica wrote a Players’ Tribune piece about her mother’s condition in February 2023, informing the public Kim had suffered brain damage from the heart attack. Months after that column, Graham reports Gahagen had been removed from his position as Bills director of corporate development and Laura had been given an equity stake in the franchise.

Remaining in place as CEO of the Bills and Buffalo Sabres, Terry Pegula has not answered questions publicly about the team since 2019. This update certainly calls into question, particularly in light of how the Broncos ended up being sold, the 11th-year owner’s succession view. Here is the latest from the AFC East:

  • Nathaniel Hackett believes, despite reports the Jets attempted to have some his power stripped this offseason, Robert Saleh still has full confidence in him as OC. “I don’t know what those reports are and I don’t know where their sources came from,” Hackett said, via SNY. “I know what happened with us. It was great. We had a lot of conversations, got to talk to a lot of different people. It’s that simple. It’s already been addressed. … We had a lot of changes, so we were talking to a lot of people.” No known change to the Jets’ offensive plan came about this offseason, though the team has added some new position coaches. Aaron Rodgers has stumped for Hackett on many occasions, and the duo’s relationship from their Green Bay days is largely why the embattled play-caller remains in place. After a rough year as Broncos HC and losing Rodgers four plays into his debut as Jets OC, Hackett joins Saleh and GM Joe Douglas on the hot seat.
  • The Dolphins will pick up $18.5MM in cap space June 2, after the funds from the Xavien Howard cut become available. The team will not look to free agency to make immediate upgrades, per Mike McDaniel. The third-year Dolphins coach said (via ProFootballNetwork.com’s Adam Beasley) the team — which lost key starters like Howard, Christian Wilkins, Robert Hunt and Jerome Baker this offseason — is “not on the hunt” for FA help.
  • Bills right tackle Spencer Brown will not participate fully in OTAs due to undergoing offseason shoulder surgery, Sean McDermott said (via ESPN’s Alaina Getzenberg). The Bills battled injuries at many positions last season, but they were healthy along their offensive front. Brown, who has been the team’s primary RT starter since his 2021 rookie year, played all 17 Buffalo games in 2023.
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