Tom Brady says hit from Bills player long ago was hardest he’s ever taken

You might recall:

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Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes eventually lost to Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers by one at “The Match.”

Things came down to the final hole, but the event was all in good fun (and for charity).

Included in the festivities was some pre-match questions during a roundtable discussion hosted by All-Pro NFL defender JJ Watt. During that, Brady gave an interesting Buffalo Bills-related answer.

Asked who landed the biggest hit on him he has ever taken, Brady said former Buffalo defensive back Nate Clements.

It’s one some might recall despite it taking place around two decades ago.

Brady, scrambling to his right at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, simply did not see Clements coming. The QB attempted a late slide to avoid contact, but he barely got into that motion before Clements rocked him so hard his helmet flew off.

In today’s NFL, Clements might be fined and flagged for such a hit. Brady ended up getting up from the knock, so no harm, no foul.

But Bills fans might enjoy checking it out below via WROC-TV:

Tom Brady says the worst hit he's ever taken is STILL this famous shot by #Bills CB Nate Clements from over 20 years ago.

Josh Allen jokes "is that film in black and white?"

Brady takes that in stride, but admits, "you're gonna see the helmet go."#Billsmafia pic.twitter.com/jTJgXhkEP2

— Thad Brown (@thadbrown7) June 1, 2022

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Here are the 5 players the Bills have used the franchise tag on

List of players the Buffalo Bills have ever franchise tagged.

In 2021, the Buffalo Bills are not going to use the franchise tag. At the end of the season, Bills general manager Brandon Beane essentially said never say never… but it just wasn’t going to ever happen.

On Tuesday, the Bills reworked center Mitch Morse’s contract to find $2 million more in cap space. Per Spotrac, that move gives the Bills approximately $6.6M in cap space if the upcoming salary cap in the NFL is set at $185M.

The most-likely candidate for the tag this offseason was linebacker Matt Milano. According to Over The Cap, that tag would have cost Buffalo $15.7M.

Beane says maybe but the logic says no.

During his tenure as GM, Beane has yet to use to franchise tag. But in the history of the franchise tag which dates back to 1993, it hasn’t happened much for the Bills, in general.

For those curious, here are the five times the Bills used the franchise tag in team history:

Buckeye Battle Cry Series: Best Ohio State football player to wear No. 20

We’re up to jersey No. 20 in our attempt to identify the best Ohio State football player to don specific numbers. Who did we pick?

We’ve been going through a series here at Buckeyes Wire. It’s a debate on which Ohio State football player is the best to wear specific jersey numbers, and we’re cruising along, now up to jersey No. 20 as we count down towards the hopeful start of college football in 2020.

Before we get into all the fun, here’s an update on where we stand with the jersey numbers we’ve debated to date:

We’re all a little stir crazy from being locked down because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but as things begin to open, it’s still fun to debate Buckeye football history. In the long, illustrious history of Ohio State football, there is sure to be some disagreement, but that only makes it more fun.

We will continue to keep going along his journey through the summer and will have the results of all of the Twitter surveys where you can vote further down the road.

Next … Mark’s kicks things off

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CBS Sports names Bills’ best draft class of last 20 years

CBS Sports names the Buffalo Bills’ best draft class over the past two decades.

The Bills have drafted a lot of players over the past two decades. Some have worked out, while others… well, not so much.

CBS Sports went back and looked at all those players the Bills picked the past two decades in an exercise to peg each NFL team’s best individual draft class since 2000. For the Bills, it didn’t take long to get to their pick: the 2001 draftees.

Here’s why CBS Sports liked the Bills’ picks that year the best:

A Pro Bowler in 2004, Nate Clements (Round 1) started in 168 regular season games during his career. Aaron Schobel (Round 2) carved out a nine-year career that saw him earn two Pro Bowl nods while tallying 78 sacks. Travis Henry (Round 2), a Pro Bowler in 2004, rushed for 2,794 yards and 23 touchdowns over a two-year span. Ron Edwards (Round 3) made 98 career starts over a 12-year career, while Jonas Jennings (Round 3) started in each of his 75 career games before injuries forced him to retire following the 2008 season. Marques Sullivan (Round 5) and Jimmy Williams (Round 6) also made quality contributions as Day 3 picks, though the latter’s came with other teams after he failed to make the Bills’ opening roster as a rookie.

A big “what if” from the Bills’ ’01 draft class is linebacker Brandon Spoon (Round 4), a fourth-round pick who recorded 65 tackles, seven tackles for loss and two interception returns for touchdowns as a rookie. Spoon’s career essentially ended the following summer, when he tore his biceps before the start of the 2002 season. Spoon spent that season on injured reserve before being cut by the Bills before the start of the 2003 season. He signed with the Rams the following offseason but suffered a torn hamstring during training camp.

The most impressive thing about Buffalo’s 2001 draft is their top-three picks in Clements, Schobel and Henry. It’s rare that a team hits on all three. Even two of three is a pretty acceptable outcome. Sprinkle in the prior mentioned depth of the Bills’ 2001 draft class, Buffalo certainly had a nice haul here.

In a rebuttal exercise, now let’s look at some contenders for the second-best draft class the Bills have had in this ranking. In 2003, the Bills landed DE Chris Kelsey (Round 2), LB Angelo Crowell (Round 3), and CB Terrence McGee (Round 4), but their top-pick, RB Willis McGahee (Round 1), left something to be desired in his career, mostly due to his injury history.

In the same type of light, the Bills ended up with WR Robert Woods (Round 2), LB Kiko Alonso (Round 2) and WR Marquise Goodwin (Round 3) in 2013, but QB EJ Manuel (Round 1) and his lackluster career highlights that draft class, but that’s some solid depth.

Aside from those two, the next-best classes are the more recent ones. And having said that, we still have to see things play out. However, Buffalo’s current front office led by Brandon Beane has certainly hit on their fair share of draft picks since 2017.

Those to consider are CB Tre’Davious White (2017, Round 1), OL Dion Dawkins (2017, Round 2), LB Matt Milano (2017, Round 5), LB Tremaine Edmunds (2018, Round 1), CB Taron Johnson (Round 4, 2018), DT Ed Oliver (2019, Round 1), and RB Devin Singletary (2019, Round 3). Of course the crown jewel of recent Buffalo draft picks, QB Josh Allen (2018, Round 1), will be the defining selection for the Bills in this time frame.

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