Tag: buffalo bills free agency

11 things to know about new Bills DL Quinton Jefferson

Get to know new Buffalo Bills defensive lineman Quinton Jefferson, who signed in 2020 NFL free agency.

Among their multiple moves in free agency, the signing of Quinton Jefferson is a below the surface signing that could pay dividends.

Jefferson isn’t a former Carolina Panthers lineman, but he still has plenty the Bills like. Notice the title of this piece, Jefferson isn’t identified as a position, rather the 26-year-old gets labeled a positional group. There’s a reason for that, and that gives some reason to believe he could be an impact player for the Bills, one you’d like to get to know.

With that, here are 11 things to know about new Bills defensive lineman Quinton Jefferson:

Seahawks defensive tackle Quinton Jefferson. Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

Versatile piece

It’s almost strange these days not starting such a piece with “Carolina connection.” For what it’s worth, he has played twice in Carolina against the Panthers, at least.

Regardless of that, Jefferson can do a lot for the Bills in the trenches. The Bills play a 4-3 defensive front, while his former team, the Seattle Seahawks, played a 3-4. In 2019 alone, Jefferson played with his hand in the dirt in all three positions on Seattle’s front.

For the Bills, that translates to probably playing at the 3-tech spot with Ed Oliver. But the Bills get creative, so don’t be surprised seeing him on the outside of the D-line at defensive end as well. The 6-foot-4, 291 pounder can do a lot for the Bills.

Pass rushing is Jefferson’s bread and butter. Pro Football Focus says Jefferson had the fifth-best win rate on pass rushing snaps in the NFL last season.

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Bills sign OL Daryl Williams

The Buffalo Bills have signed offensive lineman Daryl Williams, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. 

The Buffalo Bills have signed offensive lineman Daryl Williams, the team announced on Thursday. Full terms of the contract were not disclosed, but the contract is a one-year deal.

The 27-year-old joins the Bills having spent the past five seasons with the Carolina Panthers. Both Bills head coach Sean McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane were in Carolina for Williams’ first two seasons, so the two are familiar with what he brings to the table.

Williams is considered an inconsistent player, but he does have the versatility the Bills like. He can play both guard and tackle, but has mostly lined up in the tackle spot with Carolina, except for last season when he moved inside the offensive line. There, Pro Football Focus graded him as the NFL’s 57th best guard in the NFL last year.

Last season Williams was returning from a right knee injury which kept him out for a majority of 2018. Williams was a fourth-round pick of the Panthers in 2015. After the prior mentioned knee injury, Williams was re-signed by the Panthers last offseason to a one-year deal when he rookie contract had expired.

Buffalo’s offensive line is returning all five starters from a year ago. From left to right, that crew includes Dion Dawkins, Quinton Spain, Mitch Morse, Jon Feliciano and Cody Ford. The main depth players on Buffalo’s line that Williams will likely battle for roster spots include Ty Nsekhe and Spencer Long.

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Bills bring back CB E.J. Gaines again

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Bills have re-signed cornerback E.J. Gaines. The contract is reportedly a one-year deal. 

The third time is hopefully the charm for the Bills and cornerback E.J. Gaines.

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Bills have re-signed Gaines. The contract is said to be a one-year deal.

Gaines first joined the Bills in 2017 via trade, coming to Buffalo in the deal that sent Sammy Watkins to the Rams. Gaines had a successful season that year, notching 59 tackles, nine passes defended and an interception.

But he did only appear in 11 games due to injury, a problem that’s followed him his entire career.

Speaking of which, Gaines left the Bills following the 2017 season in free agency, inking a one-year deal with the Browns; he played only six games with them. Then he had a stint with the Bills in 2019, but was released with an injury settlement in August because of a core muscle injury.

Gaines’ injury history is extensive and his most serious was in 2015, a Lisfranc injury. Terms of his newest deal with the Bills have yet to be released, but it’s unlikely the 28-year-old comes with a high price tag based on his injury history.

When healthy, Gaines can provide the Bills with versatility as a slot cornerback or on the outside, which is where he played in 2017. But with the additions of Josh Norman and returner Levi Wallace to consider, that Bills’ secondary will be a tight positional battle in training camp.

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Mitch Morse says Bills’ O-line continuity is ‘unprecedented’

Don’t overlook the Bills’ re-signing of offensive lineman Quinton Spain this offseason. 

Don’t overlook the Bills’ re-signing of offensive lineman Quinton Spain this offseason.

In doing so, Buffalo will have all five starters on their offensive line returning next season. From left to right, those guys are Dion Dawkins, Spain, Mitch Morse, Jon Feliciano and Cody Ford.

With the moving parts of the salary cap that is the modern day NFL, that’s a rarity to have happen. An offensive line’s success depends on the group’s chemistry just as much as it does on the individual talent on it sometimes. Everyone returning for the Bills is big.

In the middle of that crew is Morse at center. The five-year vet has seen plenty in the league. Chatting with the Buffalo News, Morse recently disclosed how lucky he feels about having Spain and everyone else back again in 2020.

“I think it’s unprecedented to have an offensive line staying the same completely for two consecutive seasons, at least on paper,” Morse said.

But the 28-year-old acknowledged that things just won’t come together just because the O-line is the same on paper.

“At the same time, you’ve got to put in that work,” Morse said. “So we’ve just got to go in there and attack the days and attack the weeks and push each other to get better.”

Furthermore, Morse and the Bills should want to improve also because… well they weren’t really great, either. In 2018 the Bills’ offensive line was so bad that they made last year’s crew look like All-Pros. Pro Football Focus ranked the group their 21st best line last season. Some might want to argue they were better than that, but not by much. They were a middle of the pack type of unit, not among the NFL’s best.

But that doesn’t mean they can’t improve, and the argument can be made that returning everyone is a first step in the right direction.

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Mitch Morse approves of Bills trade for Stefon Diggs

You can count Mitch Morse among Bills players that is on board with the team’s recent acquisition of Stefon Diggs.

You can count Mitch Morse among Bills players that are on board with the team’s recent acquisition of Stefon Diggs.

Buffalo sent a first-round pick, along with a slew of others, to the Minnesota Vikings, for the receiver. It’s a bold move and Morse thinks it will be a game-changing acquisition.

“Stefon is one of those just prolific football players,” the center recently said via the Buffalo News. “I think he really can change the course of a game and give your offense a chance to score at any given moment. I think it’s a great move.”

Last offseason, Morse was the Bills’ marquee move. The 28-year-old landed a four-year, $44.5 million deal from Buffalo, making him the highest-paid center in the league at the time.

Adding Diggs addresses the Bills’ top need this offseason, finding a No. 1 wide receiver. Having one of those will also affect Morse and the offensive line, too. With a prolific receiver on the outside, along with John Brown and Cole Beasley, opposing defenses might think twice about sending extra pass rushers at quarterback Josh Allen.

Following the end of the 2019 season, Pro Football Focus ranked the Bills’ offensive line the No. 21 O-line in the NFL. Better than the year prior, but still room for improvement. In a way, Diggs could help there.

Now it’s up to the QB to get the ball to Diggs to really keep opponents on their heels.

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5 reasons why the Bills should avoid Cam Newton

Those are just a few of the places rumored to be Newton’s next destination, but Buffalo is surprisingly amongst those teams.

It was a move that many saw coming for the Carolina Panthers. The 2015 NFL MVP, and 2011 first-round pick, quarterback Cam Newton, was released on Tuesday by the team after a few years of declining health, leading to declining play.

With that news came the connections. Where would Newton end up? There’s some QB needy teams still out there, but with the madness of free agency last week, as well as the upcoming NFL Draft, who would want to take a chance with Newton? Could teams such as the Patriots or Chargers?

Those are just a few of the places rumored to be Newton’s next destination, but Buffalo is surprisingly amongst those teams.

Surprising, because of the Josh Allen experiment. But also unsurprising, because Carolina has essentially been a feeder program for the Bills since the arrival of head coach Sean McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane.

Here are five reasons why the Bills should avoid adding Newton:

Panthers quarterback Cam Newton. Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

Newton isn’t ready to be a backup

Newton isn’t going to sign just anywhere. He wants to play. He wants to be a QB1 somewhere and prove the Carolina Panthers franchise, that he gave blood, sweat, a shoulder and foot for, wrong.

He wants to make another run, whether we believe in him or not. Well, quite frankly, Buffalo isn’t going to be that place.

In case you’ve been living under a rock, this organization and a good majority of it’s fan base are firmly behind it’s first round draft pick from 2018, Josh Allen. While there most certainly has been some growing pains with Allen behind center, this front office is ready to throw it all away, unless the Bills have a meltdown and find themselves on the “outside looking in” of the playoff picture by the middle of the season.

While Newton and Allen have a similar playing ability, and if Newton were up for it, he could serve as a tremendous mentor for a young QB who hasn’t hit his ceiling just yet. That’s not Newton’s “modus operandi” at 30 years old.

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Bills rise in power ranking after free agency haul

Stefon Diggs headlines Buffalo’s additions via that trade, and all things considered, Touchdown Wire thinks the Bills got even better recently. 

The Bills used any means necessary to add during free agency. Signings are the obvious but the trade route even happened.

Stefon Diggs headlines Buffalo’s additions via that trade, and all things considered, Touchdown Wire thinks the Bills got even better recently.

Following the early stages of free agency, TD Wire moved the Bills from No. 9 to No. 7 in their latest power rankings. Here’s why:

7. Buffalo Bills
Previous ranking: 9

Key additions: WR Stefon Diggs, OLB A.J. Klein, ILB Tyler Matakevich, DE Quinton Jefferson, DT Vernon Butler, CB Josh Norman

Think back to Josh Allen, quarterback prospect out of the University of Wyoming. Close your eyes for a second and try and picture who he was back then. You’re probably seeing images of his big arm, making downfield throws, and flashing the elite velocity and arm strength ideal for a vertical-based passer.

That part of Allen’s game was missing a season ago. He was woeful throwing downfield, ranking 23rd out of 24 qualified passers in adjusted completion percentage on throws 20 yards or more downfield. But that can change with the trade for Diggs. While not a prototypical X receiver, Diggs is a game-changer in the vertical passing game. He led the league in touchdowns on vertical targets a season ago (six).

But the butterfly effect is real on what this means for the Bills offense. Having Diggs might mean more defenses play Cover-2 against them, making the box lighter and making the running game a bit easier. It also creates space for players like John Brown and Cole Beasley underneath.

Defensively, Jefferson and Butler are very solid acquisitions that will ease the loss of Shaq Lawson and Jordan Phillips, and reuniting Norman with Sean McDermott puts the veteran corner in a familiar defensive scheme.

Overall, the Bills actually rank as the fourth-best team in the AFC in TD Wire’s rankings, so a Buffalo playoff berth is something the outlet is believing in looking to the 2020 season. Ranking ahead of the Bills are the Titans in sixth, and moving up the ladder you find the Packers, 49ers, Saints, Ravens and defending champion Chiefs at the top.

The Bills edge out Tom Brady’s new team, the Bucs, who sit at eight. In terms of his old team and the rest of the AFC East, the Patriots sit at No. 14, and the Dolphins are starting to get love once again. They beat out the Jets slightly at No. 26, one point ahead of them.

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S/I says Bills ‘should consider’ adding Cam Newton

The Bills are primed to have quarterback Josh Allen lead them into the 2020 NFL season, his third professional campaign.  But Cam Newton?

The Bills are primed to have quarterback Josh Allen lead them into the 2020 NFL season, his third professional campaign.

Sports Illustrated suggests the Bills should also consider bringing in a familiar face to the organization, quarterback Cam Newton.

Newton is slated to be released by the Panthers on Tuesday and there’s clear connections there via Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott, general manager Brandon Beane, and their roots in the Carolina organization.

S/I acknowledges the Bills like Allen, but make the case for having both:

The Bills are a playoff team. They have a great defense. They came into this offseason with a ton of cap room, and still have the 10th-most available. They just brought in a legitimate No. 1 wide receiver. They also may smell a particularly ripe time to go all-in chasing their first AFC East title since 1995, with the Dolphins still building up, the Jets being eternally unreliable and the Patriots finally turning the page on the Tom Brady era.

The Bills might come to the conclusion that Josh Allen is good enough. They could also easily be one year away from the situation Chicago found itself in with Mitchell Trubisky this offseason—suddenly very aware their quarterback simply isn’t the guy, in danger of letting the window close on an otherwise good team. Buffalo would be better served taking a chance on an undervalued player one year early instead of overpaying for a solution one year too late.

There’s a case to make that Newton, if healthy, is better than Allen, as S/I thinks he is. It’s really hard to even take Allen’s side in this argument. Newton was once an MVP winner, but his health is a serious question.

There’s certainly pros and cons to the argument of Newton to the Bills. On the positive, Newton is an upgrade current backup Matt Barkley, maybe even to Allen as mentioned. He’s also more of a veteran as well, having played 125 career games to Allen’s 28 and Barkley’s 14. But on the flip side, the Bills have built Allen up as their team leader and face of the franchise. The negative ripple effects of adding Newton might not happen right away, but if Allen under preforms, McDermott and  the coaching staff could start to feel the heat from fans and the locker room alike in regard to making a chance. That heat would come much, much fast with Newton as compared to Barkley.

What also needs to be considered is Newton’s own process. He would likely have Buffalo very low on his list of places to play because he’ll want the best chance to start and there’s plenty of other options in the NFL that could be better suited for him to get that chance right away.

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Bills are re-signing WR Isaiah McKenzie

The Buffalo Bills are re-signing wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie, according to his agent. 

The Buffalo Bills are re-signing wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie, according to his agent.

 

8 things to know about new Bills DT Vernon Butler

Throughout the multiple moves the Bills made early in free agency, Vernon Butler is among the most intriguing.

Throughout the multiple moves the Bills made early in free agency, Vernon Butler is among the most intriguing. The defensive tackle has similar, yet unique roots, compared to some of his new teammates and fellow recent arrivals.

Butler will certainly have a spot carved out for him with the departure of Jordan Phillips in free agency, but he’s joining what is now maybe the deepest position group for the Bills at defensive tackle. There, Buffalo has Ed Oliver, Star Lotulelei, Harrison Phillips, Vincent Taylor and another new face, Quinton Jefferson.

A lot of talent there too, but Butler is certainly a guy that has the capabilities to standout among them all.

With that, here are eight things to know about new Bills defensive tackle Vernon Butler:

Panthers cornerback Donte Jackson (26) and defensive tackle Vernon Butler. Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

First round Carolina connection

Of course let’s start in the the Tar Heel State. Butler is, naturally, a former draft pick of the Carolina Panthers. And yes, Buffalo general manager Brandon Beane and head coach Sean McDermott were among the folks who were there when he was selected.

The 25-year-old comes from the Panthers to the Bills directly as his rookie contract expired this offseason. Unlike some other Carolina boys (but like some such as Lotulelei), he was a former first-round selection of the them in 2016. Butler wasn’t sure if he was going to be a first-round pick and attended the draft anyway and was selected at No. 30 overall out of Louisiana Tech.

Despite that, his career has but up in down. In 52 career games, he’s only made nine starts, notching 77 tackles, eight sacks, three forced fumbles, two passes defended and 10 tackles for loss. But there’s a positive spin to those numbers that we’ll get to next.

 

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