Tag: Gabriel Davis

Jaguars signing Bills WR Gabe Davis to 3-year deal

The Jaguars reportedly have a deal in place to add Gabe Davis to their wide receiving corps.

The Jacksonville Jaguars have a deal in place to sign Buffalo Bills wide receiver Gabe Davis to a three-year, $39 million contract when free agency begins Wednesday with incentives that could make it worth as much as $50 million, according to Dianna Russini of The Athletic.

Davis, who turns 25 in April, was a fourth-round pick in the 2020 NFL draft and caught 163 passes for 2,730 yards and 27 touchdowns in his four seasons with the Bills.

Hints that the Jaguars were considering adding both Davis and former Bills center Mitch Morse came on Instagram where quarterback Trevor Lawrence followed both players over the weekend.

The question for now is whether Davis will fill in for the impending departure of Calvin Ridley, replace Zay Jones on the roster, or join both of those receivers in Jacksonville next season. The Jaguars could save nearly $4.2 million in salary cap space if they release Jones, who recorded only 321 receiving yards as he struggled through injuries for much of the 2023 season.

Davis finished the 2023 season with 45 receptions for 746 yards and seven touchdowns. His 16.6 yards per reception was the third highest of his career, but still ranked sixth most in the NFL.

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7 standout wide receivers Patriots could still target in free agency

With Tee Higgins and Mike Evans off the table, here are seven standout free agent receivers the Patriots could still target

The wide receiver market is thinning in free agency with Cincinnati Bengals wideout Tee Higgins being franchise tagged and Mike Evans signing a two-year deal to stay with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Those are two big-ticket options gone for the receiver-needy New England Patriots.

But there’s no need to hit the panic button. There are still plenty of wide receiver options that could give the Patriots a major boost in free agency. Some even have the potential to sit at the top of the depth chart in the coveted No. 1 receiving role.

With Higgins and Evans off the table, here are seven standout receivers the Patriots could still pursue in free agency.

Top 12 remaining free-agent wide receivers

Tee Higgins and Mike Evans are now off the table. So, who’s left?

Sorry, Carolina Panthers fans. There will probably be no Tee Higgins and definitely no Mike Evans in your team’s immediate future.

But that doesn’t mean they still can’t sign a worthwhile wideout next week.

Here are the top 12 remaining receivers who are slated to hit free agency:

Ranking 2024’s top 12 free-agent wide receivers

You may want to bookmark this one, Panthers fans.

We know that Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young can’t do it alone. So, the newly-constructed braintrust needs to find him some help—and that search could start on the open market.

Here are the top 12 free-agent wide receivers for the 2024 offseason:

 

Bills’ Ed Oliver after Chargers sack: ‘Christmas gonna be good!’

Ed had a key sack late:

Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Oliver had a resounding sentiment from the postgame press conference podium following Buffalo’s 24-22 road win over the Chargers in Los Angeles.

“Christmas gonna be good!”

Oliver and the Bills defense closed out the final 28 seconds of the game to seal the victory following a Tyler Bass field goal that gave them the lead.

The defensive tackle had a big sack on L.A.’s backup QB Easton Stick on first down during the Chargers’ final drive, followed by a deflected second down pass and a failed series of laterals as time ran out.

Oliver was able to break through the Bolts’ offensive front to get to Stick for an electrifying second sack of the game and of the fourth quarter.

“Coach [Sean] McDermott said we need a sack to end the game, I said ‘OK!’” Oliver shared. “I had already hit the dude with the move earlier … he fell for it again. Went with it, the quarterback tried to climb the pocket, I was already on him … Took him down, so that ran time off the clock. … I already knew once I got the sack that it was over.”

Consistency in closing out games has been an area Buffalo has looked to improve in.

For Oliver’s part, the No. 9 overall first-round pick in the 2019 NFL draft has been under the microscope since the Bills selected him. Buffalo’s emphasis on player development has yielded yet another success story, as Oliver has taken the next step at the pro level to emerge as a disruptive force at the line of scrimmage.

In June of this year, the Bills signed the 26-year-old to a four-year, $68 Million extension, including a $500,000 incentive bonus in his contract if he gets eight sacks this season. An incentive he hit the play on Stick in the final minute of Saturday’s contest, making the game-closing impact the Bills need.

“Hit the incentive right before Christmas,” Oliver noted. “I told my family if I hit it, it’s going to be a nice Christmas. So, now I gotta go buy more Christmas gifts, to make sure everybody’s taken care of. … They’re going to come after Christmas, but just know, it is what it is.”

His head coach spoke highly of how the DT is handling the expectations of his contract as well.

“He’s taken it – and these are my words – but he’s taken like, ‘Hey, I’m going to show you how grateful I am for it, and I’m going to play up to that level,’” HC Sean McDermott said to the press. “And that just really says a lot about who he is as a person and how much pride he takes in his work and the job he does.”

Oliver himself was also to the point in describing his feelings on netting the game-clinching sack.

“That’s what they paid me for,” Oliver said. “Everybody, you know, when I got paid, they had a certain opinion. And I had my opinion by my own self, and I’m the type of guy who walks around with a chip on my shoulder 24/7. … I just keep on trucking.”

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Bills’ Josh Allen on Chargers win: ‘We found a way’

#Bills’ Josh Allen on #Chargers win: ‘We found a way’

The Bills shocked the Chargers in Los Angeles Saturday night, winning their head-to-head matchup 24-22 and eliminating the Bolts from playoff contention.

On offense, this was due in big part to the heads-up play of QB Josh Allen during the contest, which included a pass for 38 air yards downfield (the QB’s longest of the season) to WR Gabe Davis, which went for 57 yards total and a touchdown.

Allen went 15-for-21 for 237 yards with the touchdown, and one interception passing while adding two rushing scores on the ground. In the win, he became the first player in NFL history with four consecutive 40+ total touchdown seasons and extended his NFL record for consecutive games with a passing and rushing touchdown to 11.

“It’s tough because when you’re playing a team with nothing to lose, that’s a dangerous team. We gutted it out and we found a way,” Allen said to the press. “This is our playoffs. It didn’t matter how we get them done, just get them done.”

And the Bills did just that, though it wasn’t easy.

L.A. had a new coach and backup quarterback, which made it a challenge to prepare for and defend their own respective attack.

“(The Chargers) were doing some things that they hadn’t shown (this season). They came in well-prepared,” head coach Sean McDermott said. “I thought our guys settled in and responded. We did a good job in the red zone and had some big plays on third down to help us out.”

Ultimately, the Chargers got the short end of the stick thanks to a four-minute drill to run the clock down, with all three phases executing to secure the win. The offense did their part managing the clock, and K Tyler Bass secured the winning points on a field goal. Buffalo’s defense then sealed the victory by closing out the Chargers on their final drive with a sack by safety Ed Oliver followed by a failed lateral attempt to end the game.

“Just trusted our guys go make big plays,” Allen noted, via NFL Network. “Stefon Diggs on third down making some big conversions, Tyler Bass kicking a field goal in the end, and then Ed Oliver with the sack to end it, essentially. So, just trusting our guys to make plays, and we did tonight.”

Buffalo moved from the eighth playoff spot up into the sixth spot in the AFC playoff picture, thanks to their win and a loss by the Cincinnati Bengals (8-7) to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

If they win out in their final two games against the Patriots and Dolphins, the team will punch their ticket to the postseason. If the Dolphins lose just one of their remaining games against the Cowboys, Ravens, and Bills, Buffalo wins the division.

 

Fantasy football start ’em, sit ’em: Week 11

Check out these starts and sits for fantasy football in Week 11.

As the Week 11 slate of games kicked off Thursday night, the attention now turns to the start/sit decisions managers will face over the weekend as they stare down their fantasy football lineups.

For the third week in a row, four teams will be on a bye, including the Indianapolis Colts, New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons.

Doing start/sit articles can be a little challenging. The players featured on the list below should not be taken as “must starts” or “must sits.” Instead, these are more suggestions on what we believe managers should do with fringe players heading into the weekend. The choice is ultimately up to the manager.

Just because a player is listed as a “start” doesn’t mean he should be put in the lineup over the secure, bona fide studs. Vice versa for the “sits.” If there’s no better option on the waiver wire or the bench, a manager shouldn’t automatically sit the player. That’s why these can be tricky waters to navigate.

Feel free to ask any specific start/sit questions via X, formerly Twitter, (@KevinHickey11), or check out our start/bench list for Week 11:

Predicting the Bills starting offense after the 2023 NFL draft

Predicting the #Bills starting offense after the 2023 NFL draft (via @jdiloro):

As with every new season, NFL teams will see changes to their roster. Between free agency and the NFL Draft, teams will always have new faces occupying the starting lineup.

The Buffalo Bills brought in several new pieces to help bolster their offensive unit. The Bills hope the new additions will be enough to continue an offensive dominance in games. Buffalo was second in the NFL in points per scored per game last year, trailing only the Kansas City Chiefs.

Here is an early prediction of who will start for the Bills on offense following the 2023 NFL draft:

5 reasons for hope for the Bills in 2023

5 reasons for hope for the #Bills in 2023:

The Buffalo Bills are not being mentioned in the media buzz as much going into their 2023 campaign compared to recent offseasons.

And part of the reason might be the team’s anticlimactic exit against the Cincinnati Bengals in the divisional round of the playoffs.

The team is also around $19 million over the salary cap and a number of their starters and rotation players are free agents.

Still, there may be even more possibility that this year could be an even better one for the franchise.

Here are some 5 reasons for hope for the Bills in 2023:

6 toughest decisions for Bills GM Brandon Beane this offseason

6 toughest decisions for #Bills GM Brandon Beane this offseason:

After a season in which the Buffalo Bills fell short of their championship goals, the team now enters into an important offseason. The club no longer watches the playoffs from home. Since Sean McDermott became head coach and Brandon Beane the GM, the Bills have become a playoff team themselves and, more recently, a Super Bowl favorite.

But with that distinction comes different expectations.

Decision-making on personnel and economics by Beane is a big part of what’s made this team successful and given them a chance to win. Even still, after making the AFC Championship game two seasons ago Buffalo has seen consecutive division-round exits.

The team needs some help to take the next step toward a Super Bowl, and the person in a position to help make that happen is Beane as well. With that, here are six tough decisions for Brandon Beane this offseason: