TJ Yeldon – Syndication Server

Updated list of Bills free agents as tampering period opens

List of Buffalo Bills 2021 free agents as the legal tampering period opens.

The Bills have been movers and shakers prior to free agency even opening, keeping several of their key pieces on the roster.

The team re-signed linebacker Matt Milano, tackle Daryl Williams and guard Jon Feliciano over the course of the past few days.

But that trio is not alone. Buffalo still has several other free agents they could potentially re-sign, but those guys are about to hit the open market. As of noon on Monday, these players can now entertain offers from other teams,

With that legal tampering period in the NFL now open, here’s an updated list of pending free agents for the Bills:

Ranking all 6 active Alabama RBs in the NFL

Alabama continues to produce high level NFL talent. With six active running backs in the league, how do they rank? AJ Spurr breaks it down.

Nick Saban has produced plenty of talent that has translated well in the NFL. Whether it be offensive studs or defensive stars, the Crimson Tide is well represented.

Some positions receive more of the spotlight, those usually belong to the offensive side of the ball.

Quarterbacks, wide receivers and running backs are all positional groups that college programs will try to claim.

Is Alabama “WRU,” or “RBU”? That’s up for debate. However, what can be agreed upon is that there are very good running backs in the league that have come out of Tuscaloosa.

Out of all six of the Crimson Tide running backs in the NFL, here’s how they rank:

TJ Yeldon to take Zack Moss’ spot in Bills lineup vs. Ravens

Buffalo Bills RB TJ Yeldon will play in Zack Moss’ spot in line vs. Baltimore Ravens in AFC Divisional round/

The Buffalo Bills have not ruled calling running back Antonio Williams or Devonta Freeman up from their practice squad for the team’s upcoming Divisional round matchup with the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday.

Neither will be taking Zack Moss’s spot in the lineup, though.

Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott said on Thursday via video conference that it will be TJ Yeldon who will do that job.

“TJ will be the one that’s brought up in Zack’s spot. TJ Yeldon, just to give you that information. We do have a lot of confidence in Antonio and we were impressed by what we saw in that game against Miami,” McDermott said, referencing Williams’ two-touchdown effort in Week 17.

Earlier in the week, McDermott hinted that Devin Singletary will assume No. 1 duties without Moss (ankle) in the lineup against the Ravens (11-5), saying the second-year pro is “more than capable” to do so. Prior to that during the regular season, Singletary and Moss were essentially splitting carries in the Bills (13-3) backfield.

From Weeks 3-5 at the start of 2020, Moss missed three games with a hamstring injury. At that time, the Bills also opted to use Yeldon in a No. 2 role. Yeldon had 10 carries and 70 yards and added a receiving touchdown.

In those three games, Singletary had 42 carries, 152 rushing yards (3.62 avg) with a touchdown. Singletary also had 10 catches for 79 in that time frame with a receiving touchdown.

In most other cases, Yeldon was inactive on game day as the assumed No. 3 behind Moss and Singletary, which again holds to be true.

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What Bills’ Sean McDermott said about signing Devonta Freeman

Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott on signing RB Devonta Freeman.

The Buffalo Bills threw a curveball into their running back decision on Tuesday and it goes by the name of Devonta Freeman.

Buffalo (13-3) added the veteran free agent rusher, who was recently released by the New York Giants, ahead of their Divisional round matchup against the Baltimore Ravens (11-5). That decision came on the heels of Zack Moss (ankle) being placed on injured reserve.

Moss was dinged up against the Indianapolis Colts in the Bills’ 27-24 Wild Card round win. Most point to and assume Devin Singletary, who was splitting carries with Moss, will take on No. 1 duties. But that still means he needs his backup, a guy who could see playing time himself vs. the Ravens.

Freeman gives the Bills an intriguing option and Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott said his experience having to defend against Freeman personally in the past made him a desirable addition.

“I had the unfortunate opportunity to go against him in the NFC South for a number of years so I had a front row seat to witness what he’s capable of doing. Bringing him into the running back room I think was a good move by Brandon (Beane). He adds to what we have and we’ll try to get him up to speed as quickly as possible,” McDermott said via video conference.

Naturally the biggest question with Freeman potentially playing is can he get up to speed? That’s a big ask in a few days, the Bills didn’t feel comfortable enough last week with forcing wide receiver Kenny Stills to do so… as he, like Freeman, was a late-season addition to the team’s practice squad.

“It’s a lot of information to digest in a short amount of time,” McDermott added. “That’s kind of the biggest challenge.”

One to always try to keep his opponent guessing, McDermott will not be revealing what the team will do. The decision comes down to Freeman, TJ Yeldon and Antonio Williams, who like Freeman is also on Buffalo’s practice squad.

“TJ Yeldon has played in a lot of games and at a high level and you take it all the way down to Antonio and what we saw him do a few weeks ago,” McDermott said.

Really we won’t have any idea what McDermott will do until about just before 7 p.m. on Saturday.

On Friday is when the Bills will likely make any callups from the practice squad. Still, even if McDermott decides to call up Freeman, Williams, or both, 90 minutes before kickoff teams announce their inactive lists for a game. The Bills have previously called up players and still left them inactive on game day.

So nothing in regard to the No. 2 running back spot will be fully settled until game day. Looking back on the way the Bills handled Stills, it would be a surprise to see Freeman get such a quick callup, but the coach, at minimum, left that option on the table as of Wednesday.

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Sean McDermott: Devin Singletary ‘capable’ to carry load without Zack Moss

Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott updates running back situation on Devin Singletary, Zack Moss.

The Buffalo Bills rarely reveal any plans of theirs. Head coach Sean McDermott often keeps his cards close to his chest.

In regard to the latest news surrounding the Bills’ running back room, McDermott did let his guard down a tad.

Most would expect the next-man up to be second-year pro Devin Singletary. That appears to be confirmed, a bit, by the coach on Monday after McDermott confirmed the news that rookie rusher Zack Moss would miss the rest of the playoffs with an ankle injury.

“I told (Singletary) it’s his time to step up,” McDermott said via video conference. “This team is one hundred percent confident in Devin Singletary.”

“He’s very aware of that and more than capable,” McDermott added.

While the Bills coach did reveal a little nugget in there, it’s not the most shocking thing. During the regular season, Moss and Singletary had split snaps for the most part. After the midpoint of the year, Moss did start to see the slight edge on Singletary in terms of snaps played, but both guys were getting touches.

In 13 games, Moss averaged 4.3 yards per carry, putting up 481 total. Singletary saw his yards per carry drop from 5.1 a year ago to 4.4 in 2020. Moss led the Buffalo running back room with 687 yards, but didn’t miss time like Moss had. Singletary did feature as the Bills’ pass-catching back more than double the amount of Moss as well, notching 38 catches to the rookie’s 14.

Where the more intriguing decision lies is replacing Moss’s roster spot. In most cases during the season, when both Moss and Singletary were healthy, they were the only running backs active on game day. Behind them for most of the year was presumably TJ Yeldon.

Yeldon appeared in three games for Buffalo in 2020, Weeks 3-5, while Moss was injured. In that time, Yeldon had 10 carries for 70 yards with one catch for 22 yards, which also went for a touchdown. In Buffalo’s other 13 games, he was mostly inactive or on the team’s COVID-19 list for a brief time.

But since Yeldon’s time in the lineup, another running back has captured the hearts of those in western New York, Antonio Williams. Formerly an undrafted rookie this past offseason, Williams has been on and off of Buffalo’s practice squad all year. In Week 17 he was finally called up from the taxi squad and produced with a big game which included two touchdowns against the Miami Dolphins.

Finally there’s Christian Wade, the international who shined in the 2019 preseason.

McDermott mentioned all three players as potential replacements, perhaps in an effort not to give away too much intel to the Baltimore Ravens ahead of their Round 2 meeting on Saturday, but McDermott did add a little extra on Williams.

“We’ll look at guys on our roster that we have a lot of confidence in, T.J [Yeldon], Antonio [Williams], Christian [Wade]. We’ll take a look at what our options are,” McDermott said.

“He certainly popped,” McDermott mentioned on Williams.

The Bills could go numerous ways with their decision, but rolling with Singletary primarily would appear to be the smartest play on paper.

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Bills activate RB TJ Yeldon from Reserve/COVID-19 list

RB TJ Yeldon activated from Reserve/COVID-19 list.

The Buffalo Bills activated running back TJ Yeldon from the Reserve/COVID-19 list. The team announced the move on Wednesday.

Yeldon, a backup running back for the Bills (13-3) this season, only has 10 carries and 70 rushing yards in 2020 in three games played. He has not suited up since Week 5 and is viewed as the third-stringer behind both Zack Moss and Devin Singletary.

On Dec. 27, Yeldon was placed on the team’s COVID designation for his positive test result for coronavirus. The following day, three other players, including wide receiver John Brown, were also placed on the designation via contact tracing, not for positive tests themselves.

That caused Brown to miss Buffalo’s Week 16 game vs. the Patriots. Brown did play in their season finale against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.

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3 Bills, including John Brown, added to Reserve/COVID-19 list

Buffalo Bills WR John Brown, 2 others, land on Reserve/COVID-19 list.

The Buffalo Bills had an interesting series of events unfold on Monday prior to facing the New England Patriots in Week 16.

It was anticipated that the Bills (11-3) were going to activate wide receiver John Brown from injured reserve to play against the Pats. That’s because Buffalo released wideout Jake Kumerow days ago and eventually he was claimed on the waiver wire by the New Orleans Saints.

Come early Monday afternoon, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported that the Bills were not going to be activating Brown.

Huh? A silly decision to release Kumerow then, right?

Now the context we were lacking. The Bills have now revealed that Brown (ankle) was activated off injured reserve. But he immediately went on another designation: the Reserve/COVID-19 list.

Brown, along running back Christian Wade and safety Josh Thomas, were placed on the list. The latter two are practice squad players, though.

Per the Bills, all three were deemed to be placed there as a safety precaution due to contract tracing. Running back TJ Yeldon was placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list on Sunday for a positive test result and contact tracing is part of the followup after such circumstances.

Brown will likely make his return to the lineup in Week 17 in Buffalo against the Miami Dolphins now.

Along with the updates to Brown and two others, the Bills announced the backup quarterback Davis Webb was elevated from the practice squad for Monday’s game vs. the Pats.

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BREAKING: Former Alabama RB tests positive for COVID

Former Alabama running back T.J. Yeldon has tested positive for COVID, according to a report by the Buffalo Bills PR team. He will not be…

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Former Alabama running back T.J. Yeldon was tested positive for COVID, according to the Buffalo Bills PR team. He will not travel with the team for their Week 16 contest on the road for a prime time game against the New England Patriots.

Yeldon, who won two SEC Championships and a BCS National Championship while with the Crimson Tide, has had a difficult time finding his stride within the NFL.

He was a second round draft pick by the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2015, but struggled to earn a lead role as there always seemed to be players sitting above him on the depth chart.

Now, in year No. 2 with the Bills, Yeldon has still not seen much time on the field. He has appeared in three games and carried the ball 10 times for 70 yards.

There’s no official word on how Yeldon contracted the virus, or how it might have affected the rest of the playoff-bound Bills.

Roll Tide Wire will keep you updated on Yeldon’s health as more information becomes available.

Bills at Jets: 3 keys to the game for both teams

Buffalo Bills, New York Jets keys to game Week 7.

The Bills and Jets are facing each other for the second time in 2020, and while it has only been seven weeks, so much has changed. The Jets are vastly different, losing running back Le’Veon Bell and many others. For the Bills, there’s a much different feeling, as the defense has shown it’s true colors.

As poor as the Jets are, this game shouldn’t be overlooked. Here are the keys to victory for both teams:

New York Jets

1. Rally behind Sam Darnold

Though he’s been out on injury over the last two weeks, the world is starting to see that Sam Darnold is a gamer, and the New York Jets franchise has let him down. His performance against the Denver Broncos, which didn’t yield a victory, but did involve Darnold breaking off a 46-yard touchdown run to get his team moving.

Despite the lack of weapons, Darnold moved the ball effectively in the second half against the Bills in Week 1, and despite some “questionable” injury designations on the Jets, Darnold may be able to move the ball against this Bills defense that is banged up and playing poorly.

Let Darnold loose, as best as he can be. Designated runs, albeit not being a rushing QB, might be a way to catch this Bills defense off guard. Short and mid-ranged passes to attack the linebackers work, too.

2. The “Old Man” can still go

When Bell went on injured reserve after the first Bills and Jets encounter, Frank Gore became the guy in their backfield. While he’s not close to what he once was, Gore can still break off runs when needed. More of a power runner than an elusive back.

Is the Jets’ offensive line bad? Absolutely, but so is the Bills rush defense. While he doesn’t have to be an every down back, Gore should be game planned as often as possible. Gore is averaging 3.3 yards per carry, and the Bills are giving up and average of 4.8 yards per rush. It’s quite obvious.

There might be a bit of revenge mentality as well, with Gore having played in Buffalo last year, and having opportunities taken from him as the team transitioned toward Devin Singletary. Gore’s a true pro, and that may be drastic, but, how sweet would it be to have a season high game against the team that dumped you for the new kid.

3. Be Aggressive on Defense

The Bills offense has gone against much tougher competition than the Jets since their first game, this team has done a good job of beating itself in recent weeks. Penalties, overthrows and general mistakes have had the Bills look night and day different from what they had in weeks one through four.

It’s a Gregg Williams defense, which is trained to be more physical then most. Aggressive play from a defensive front is enough to rattle Allen, and we’ve seen in recent weeks what that can do. It might be the most important key to giving this Jets team an opportunity to win.

Play disciplined and penalty free football, while being hard nosed and physical. The Bills offensive line woes should come into play here, and may be the best opportunity for a Jets defense to find success.

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Stock up, stock down following the Bills’ loss to the Titans

Stock report following the Buffalo Bills’ loss to the Titans.

Our latest Buffalo Bills stock report is going to be a change of pace, but not one that is in any way surprising.

The Bills were nothing short of smacked by the Tennessee Titans, 42-16, on Tuesday. Buffalo’s offense showed a blip or two of life, while the defensive woes hit a fever pitch.

With that, here’s Bills Wire’s latest stock report following the Bills’ loss to the Titans:

Stock up

Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs. (AP Photo/Brett Carlsen)

WR Stefon Diggs

Seeing as the way things turned out, maybe Buffalo shouldn’t bank on this, but Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs certainly showed he can carry the load. Diggs had a game-high 16 total targets which turned into 10 catches for 106 yards. A good personal game, but again, not the best for the offense overall.

WR John Brown

John Brown had zero targets, catches, yards, routes run, and snaps played against the Titans. That’s because he missed the game due to a calf injury. Forcing the ball to Diggs helped his personal stats, but Buffalo lost and the offense was not as dynamic as it was with Brown in the lineup the first few games.

RB TJ Yeldon

In a surprise, TJ Yeldon finished the game as Buffalo’s leading rusher with 52 yards, which included a 34-yard scamper. Yeldon also had a 22-yard touchdown catch. And we can’t forgot, he did win Bills Wire’s Player of the Game. Good day at the office for a guy who is typically inactive on game day.

DT Harrison Phillips/ DT Vernon Butler

These guys won’t show up much in the box score, but the Bills held Titans running back Derrick Henry to 3.0 yards per carry because of some good plays by these guys. A big part of the time when Henry gained anything over three yards, he was bouncing runs to the outside because either Harrison Phillips or Vernon Butler were right in his face. Problem is, these two also didn’t get much help after they did their jobs.

WR Cole Beasley

Cole Beasley had six catches for 53 yards. A solid stat line for him… and it’s an even better one considering that was his work from just one half of the game. Beasley had zero targets in the first half. Why wasn’t he involved earlier?

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