Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
PFF: Lowest-graded Bills players on defense vs. the Seahawks
The Buffalo Bills defeated the Seattle Seahawks on the road in Week 8, 31-10.
Statistics might help determine who played well or not, and so may the eye test. But, let’s take it a step further with some help from the analytics folks at Pro Football Focus.
Using PFF grades from Week 8, here are the five lowest-graded players from the Bills (6-2) defense against the Seahawks (4-4).
PFF grade: 60.9.
PFF grade: 57.7.
PFF grade: 53.8.
PFF grade: 46.4.
PFF grade: 28.6.
#Bills create cap space by restructuring A.J. Epenesa, DaQuan Jones contracts:
On the brink of the 2024 NFL regular season, Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane gave himself a little wiggle room on the salary cap incase a move comes during the upcoming year.
According to ESPN’s Field Yates, the team has restructured the contracts of pass rusher AJ Epenesa and defensive tackle DaQuan Jones. Reportedly the moves have opened $2,78 million in salary cap space:
The Bills restructured the contracts of DE A.J. Epenesa and DT DaQuan Jones, creating $2.78M in cap space.
The 49ers restructured the contract of DT Maliek Collins, creating $5.432M in cap space.
Buffalo was tight to the cap, while San Francisco sticks with its trend of moving…
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) September 3, 2024
Prior to restructuring, Over The Cap had the Bills over the current salary cap. Now updated, Buffalo as $2.7M in cap space moving forward.
Both Epenesa and Jones re-signed in Buffalo this offseason. Epenesa inked a two-year , $12M deal this spring which was followed by Jones’ two-year, $16M extension.
Beane likely does not have a pending move in mind, but he has not been scared to make in-season moves which require salary cap space. In 2023, Buffalo traded for cornerback Rasul Douglas at the trade deadline.
Bills Wire will provide all roster and salary cap updates throughout the 2024 season.
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#Bills’ DaQuan Jones says new-look D-line ‘coming together’
The Buffalo Bills have had highlighted roster changes around the playmaker positions on both sides of the ball this offseason.
The defensive line can be tossed in there, too.
The 2024 NFL draft saw DeWayne Carter (third round) and Javon Solomon (fifth round) head to Buffalo. The Bills dipped into free agency plenty as well, adding names like Casey Toohill and Dawuane Smoot.
Because of all those new faces, the coaching staff decided to take advantage of anything they could–Even making the players workout on the third and final day of minicamp this spring. In the past, head coach Sean McDermott had given them the day off.
“A high percentage of new players, new faces. The more reps we can get, the better,” McDermott said. “I appreciate [the players’] effort.”
“It’s going to be a challenging (training) camp,” McDermott added.
From a player’s perspective, it’s understandable.
Veteran DaQuan Jones has been in Buffalo for the past two seasons and he can see all the turnover.
Because of that, Jones explained players are doing their best off the field to further build a relationship.
“I think the D-line coming together was huge. We had a get together last night,” Jones said at minicamp.
For more from Jones, see the attached Batavia Daily clip below:
As plenty of new faces mix into the #Bills DL room, the group held a get together on Wednesday night, with the entire unit meeting for dinner. DaQuan Jones says they’ve come a long way the past few weeks: “It’s been a great OTA camp.” pic.twitter.com/OpOhe2gQNR
— alex brasky (@alexbrasky) June 13, 2024
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#Bills veterans join in on Media Day session (video):
The 2024 crop of Buffalo Bills already did their media day duties back during rookie minicamp.
Now the vets played their part.
Media day includes all those photos, videos, and more that players are part of each season during games on the big screen and on social media.
Check out the preview of those below:
Picture day never disappoints. 😎#GoBills | #BillsMafia pic.twitter.com/Y0hWMi9C43
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) June 11, 2024
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Why PFF thinks DaQuan Jones in a ‘bounce-back candidate’ for the #Bills:
Pro Football Focus named DaQuan Jones the Buffalo Bills’ candidate to be a “bounce-back player” in 2024… which is curious to say the least.
However, the full context is needed.
The Bills re-signed Jones this offseason based on his performances. His… good performances. The 32-year-old was limited to just seven games last season due to a pectoral injury which cost him most of the year.
And that’s it. PFF gave Jones positive grades for his work in Buffalo in 2023. His efforts included 2.5 sacks and 16 tackles.
It’s all about Jones staying healthy following injury, according to PFF.
Their full breakdown can be found below:
Jones was terrific in 2023, with his 82.9 overall grade slotting 12th among defensive tackles to play 200 or more snaps. The issue, though, was that Jones tore his pec, preventing him from exceeding that playing time.
A healthy Jones could showcase his long-term talent, truly creating a name for himself amid a Buffalo defensive line with no shortage of skill.
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Contract details for #Bills DT DaQuan Jones:
The Buffalo Bills re-signed defensive tackle DaQuan Jones to a two-year deal early on in 2024 free agency.
Jones, 32, appeared in 23 games for Buffalo over the past two years. He’s started all of them. Last season, he was held to seven games played including two postseason outings.
Jones originally left the Carolina Panthers during the 2022 offseason and signed in Buffalo.
At the time of reporting, Jones’ new contract was said to be worth $16 million total with $10.5M fully guaranteed. In addition, NFL Network noted some incentives put in place making the deal worth up to $18M max.
Upon the revealing of the finer details, here’s some more information on the Jones deal.
Jones earned a $5 million signing bonus as part of his $10.5M in guarantees. Another $2.5M of that comes in 2024 with the rest of Jones’ guarantees being his 2024 salary.
Because of that layout, Jones will certainly be in Buffalo this upcoming season but there is an out in the second year.
Now for the all-important salary cap hits: Jones will have a $6.3M hit in 2024 and the following year it’s at $9M. The dead-cap hits in those two seasons are $10.5M and $6M, respectively.
That first year locks Jones into a roster spot in 2024. In 2025, Buffalo can save $3M against the salary cap if Jones is cut, but there are two void years on his deal in 2026 and 2027 which will help further spread out his salary cap hit… those two, respectively, are $2.5M and $1.25M, both considered minimal.
Bills Wire will continue to bring all roster updates throughout the 2024 offseason.
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After signing a two-year deal to come back to the Buffalo Bills, defensive tackle DaQuan Jones spoke to the media about why he’s returning.
Buffalo Bills defensive tackle DaQuan Jones had the chance to leave in free-agency, especially with Buffalo making significant cuts to get under the salary cap for the 2024 NFL league year. However, Jones decided to come back to the Bills by signing a two-year deal with a maximum value of $18 million.
Jones, 32, came to Buffalo two seasons ago during free agency and since then, he has been one of the more disruptive forces along the Bills’ defensive line. After signing his deal to come back to Buffalo, Jones spoke to the media on why he came back to play for the Bills despite probably being able to get more money by signing elsewhere.
In part, Jones said that one of the reasons for him returning was because of how “comfortable” he felt playing in head coach Sean McDermott’s defensive system that has seen him have some of his best seasons in his career.
After spending seven seasons with the Tennessee Titans after being drafted with a fourth-round pick in the 2014 draft and one season with the Carolina Panthers, Jones feels that he is hitting his stride despite now being in his 30’s.
Jones said to the media that he feels that he is “peaking” physically and mentally and that he sees things finally “clicking” for him. While Jones played just seven games last season due to a pectoral injury, the Bills are happy that Jones is coming back to play for the Bills.
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Projecting market value for #Bills pending free agents:
The Buffalo Bills have several important players who are on the cusp of leaving via free agency. General manager Brandon Beane has some difficult decisions to make, as he needs to balance a challenging salary cap situation. At this time, Spotrac highlights the Bills are still $41 million over the cap.
The Bills still have some time to ink these players to extensions. However, several of these players are on the verge of a big payday.
The legal tampering period begins on March 11. Once this date hits, it’s a good chance that these players will be finding new homes for the 2024 season.
Here is a look at the projected market value for the Bills top pending free agents based off Spotrac’s projections:
Taking a look at one pending free agent for the Colts from each AFC team.
With free agency right around the corner, the Indianapolis Colts have the chance to make some key additions to a roster that already has some promise.
Working with some of the most salary-cap space in the NFL this offseason, general manager Chris Ballard and the front office can continue to add pieces to the defensive side of the ball while improving the supporting cast for quarterback Anthony Richardson.
Re-signing some of their own players like Michael Pittman Jr., Grover Stewart and Kenny Moore II will be key. But they also could look around the conference to bring in some outside talent.
We know Ballard isn’t one to make huge splashes in free agency, but they are still going to be an active team even if it means simply adding depth.
After taking a look at potential NFC targets, here’s a look at one pending free agent from each AFC team that should interest the Colts:
Taking a look at some DT targets for Indy in free agency.
Free agency for the interior of the defensive line for the Indianapolis Colts all comes down to what Chris Ballard does with Grover Stewart.
They are set with DeForest Buckner at the three-tech spot for at least one more season but if Stewart isn’t re-signed, there is a glaring hole in that part of the roster.
Even if Stewart is brought back for the 2024 season, Ballard also has to consider depth beyond him because of how far the rush defense fell when Stewart was out of the lineup in the 2023 season because of his six-game suspension.
Here are five defensive tackles that the Colts should target as replacement options for Stewart if he walks and/or quality depth option to have in the rotation behind him:
