Tag: James Lofton

The circumstances were a bit different, but there’s certainly some similarities. Hall of Famer and former Buffalo Bills wide receiver Andre Reed joined team’s radio show this week and compared past to present.

The Bills’ most notable move of this offseason was acquiring wide receiver Stefon Diggs. He’ll be a big help to his new team, just like James Lofton was a to the Bills just prior to their run at four-straight Super Bowls.

Reed said adding such a known commodity to a wide receiver room can have a lasting impact on a group.

“When James Lofton signed it was like… uh-oh, it’s about to go down now,” Reed said. “He was established in Green Bay, he did a lot in the league… went to Oakland, or the LA Raiders at the time, and not only did he bring a sense of confidence to us as a receiver group, but just his presence, not only on the field but off the field… you couldn’t help but be better.”

The current Bills are certainly hoping Diggs will be that and then some. Of course being a Hall of Famer eventually would be nice, too. But Diggs might have an ever bigger responsibility on his hands than Loften, a future Hall of Famer himself, had when signing with Buffalo. Back in the day, the Bills had an established target in Reed when Lofton joined. Diggs will be the Bills’ No. 1, go-to guy for quarterback Josh Allen, right away.

Of course, the Bills know Diggs can’t do it all himself, as does Reed. The current NFL offseason is much different than usual and along with discussing Diggs’ impact Reed mentioned how crucial Buffalo’s already in-house veterans are going to be in terms of getting everyone on the same page.

“[Rookies and new additions] are going to have to hit the ground running and when you have veterans on your team like John Brown and Cole Beasley and all these guys that they have there, offensively and defensively, this is going to make your team a little bit more confident when they step on the field,” Reed said.

 

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