Bills Ownership

AFC East Notes: Unga, McCourty, Jets

The Bills will be the first team to open training camp in 2014, with a 6pm practice this evening. And, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets, every team in the league will be in camp by this time next week. As the anticipation continues to build, let’s take a look at some Bills notes and swing around the rest of AFC East on this Sunday morning:

Sunday Roundup: Bills Ownership, NFC West

In May, Former Sabres owner B. Thomas Golisano and Syracuse developer Scott Congel had preliminary talks to form a partnership and purchase the Bills. Now, however, those conversations are dead, writes Tim Graham of The Buffalo News. According to Graham, Golisano would still like to bid on the team by himself, and Congel may also be interested in purchasing the club on his own. If Golisano were to buy the club, he would not rule out selling a minority share in the team to Congel.

Now for some more links from around the league:

  • Rich Campbell of The Chicago Tribune lays out a “superlative guide” to the Bears‘ training camp, naming Marquess Wilson the player “most likely to succeed”–Wilson emerged from spring workouts as the team’s clear No. 3 receiver–and declaring the team’s fiercest frontline position battle to be at the safety position.
  • Curtis Crabtree of Pro Football Talk continues PFT’s series of preseason power rankings by looking at the Rams. Crabtree notes that the team still lacks a true No. 1 receiver and depth along the secondary, and despite adding quality talent in the draft and boasting perhaps the best defensive line in the game, St. Louis plays in the league’s best division and so will probably remain on the outside looking in.
  • Speaking of the talented NFC West, Kent Somers of AZCentral.com examines the Cardinals‘ outlook for the 2014 campaign. Somers notes that the Cards, who finished 10-6 under first-year head coach Bruce Arians in 2013, should see continued improvement as they continue to settle into Arians’ offensive system. There is talent up and down the roster, but the rebuilt offensive line and the linebacker group–which lost Karlos Dansby to free agency and Daryl Washington to suspension–could hold the team back.
  • Seahawks‘ pass rusher Bruce Irvin, who underwent hip surgery this offseason, is progressing well, writes Todd Dybas of The News Tribune. Although Irvin tweeted last month that he would return by training camp, which opens July 25, Dybas notes that he will be sidelined quite a bit longer than that.
  • Defensive lineman Vance Walker, who signed a three-year, $13MM free agent contract with the Chiefs this offseason, is feeling right at home with his new club, writes Terez A. Paylor of The Kansas City Star.
  • Bo Smolka of CSNBaltimore.com examines the battle for the Ravens‘ No. 3 running back spot. Smolka notes that if Ray Rice is suspended as expected, both Justin Forsett and rookie Lorenzo Taliaferro will make the club and Baltimore can reexamine its options when Rice returns. However, if Rice somehow escapes suspension, Smolka predicts that Rice, Bernard Pierce, and Taliaferro will make up the team’s running back corps.

Bills May Be Sold By July

The sale of the Bills is moving at a “brisk pace” and the team could be sold as early as July, writes John Wawrow of the Associated Press. Contractually, the Bills must stay in Buffalo until 2019, but the goal is to secure the team’s presence there for much longer than that.

Given the anticipation that the team could be sold within the next several months, governor Andrew Cuomo has redoubled his efforts to prevent the Bills from relocating. As Wawrow writes, “The state intends to hire a consulting firm over the next week to produce a report within three months that would be issued to prospective owners. The report would identify potential stadium sites and outline public financing options that would be made available.

The consulting firm would work in conjunction with Irwin Raij, a partner with the law firm Foley & Lardner who played a critical role in the 10-year lease agreement that gave the Bills a “one-time out” in 2020. As the early offers to buy the team appear to be legitimate and competitive, Cuomo is hoping to at least get the framework of a plan to keep the Bills in Buffalo in place as soon as possible. More details will certainly follow in the coming weeks.