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Winners, losers from the #Bills’ offseason so far:
The inital wave of free agency from the 2022 NFL offseason is over. The Buffalo Bills were players in that pool.
Looking ahead, the Bills will be at the upcoming NFL draft as well. Buffalo holds seven totals picks there and some of them will change how we look at the team’s roster.
But for now, here are winners and losers from the Bills’ locker room so far this offseason:
#Bills re-sign Tyrel Dodson:
The Buffalo Bills have re-signed linebacker Tyrel Dodson on Thursday.
That comes according to the player himself.
Dodson took to his social media account on Twitter and posted a photo of him signing paperwork. That all but seals the news:
I AM GRATEFUL!! Man!! #BillsMafia pic.twitter.com/8AFMcXjEm6
— Tyrel Dodson (@tdots25) February 10, 2022
Dodson was slated to be an exclusive rights free agent.
Check back for updates…
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#Bills activate Tyrel Dodson from Reserve/COVID-19 list:
The Buffalo Bills activated linebacker Tyrel Dodson from the team’s Reserve/COVID-19 list.
The team announced the transaction on Thursday.
Dodson landed on the designation last week. Via social media, he had indicated that he was vaccinated after the positive test.
He had held out hope that he could play vs. the Carolina Panthers in Week 15, but that ended up not happening. Dodson would have needed to return a negative test for COVID-19 by game day to do so.
While Dodson does not start on the Bills defense, he does contribute on special teams.
That’s a role he could return to on Sunday vs. the New England Patriots (9-5).
The Bills (8-6) did not need to make a corresponding move to fit Dodson on their roster. Buffalo had multiple spot available to fit him due to other players being on the COVID-19 as well. Among those is wide receiver Cole Beasley.
Others also still remaining on the designation include defensive end AJ Epenesa and offensive linemen Jon Feliciano and Dion Dawkins.
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#Bills place Tyrel Dodson on Reserve/COVID-19 list:
The Buffalo Bills placed linebacker Tyrel Dodson on the team’s Reserve/COVID-19 list. The team announced the transaction on Monday.
Dodson joins fellow linebacker AJ Klein there, who has missed two games thanks to the designation. Klein was placed on the COVID list on Dec. 6.
This week the NFL has seen an uptick of players in the league testing positive for the virus. Some like the Cleveland Browns have had to place several players on the designation, however, the Bills only have Dodson as a new member thus far.
Upon the news breaking, Dodson shared this message on his social media account on Twitter. He seems to be in good spirits:
Appreciate everyone that has reached out! I am asymptomatic, hopefully a couple a negative tests this week & then I’m ready to roll Sunday!
Thanks for all the concerns #BillsMafia ❤️ https://t.co/fSyyjJLGsJ— Tyrel Dodson (@tdots25) December 13, 2021
Dodson saying “a couple of negative tests” indicates that he is vaccinated for the virus. With two negative results 24 hours apart this week, he can still play in Week 15 against the Carolina Panthers.
One thing to note: Dodson was in the Bills’ lineup on Week 14 vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, leading his team in special teams snaps.
Considering that, could another positive test or two sprout up for Buffalo this week?
Naturally, the Bills will hope that is not the case.
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“THIS IS WHAT WE ARE DOING NOW!?”
Mac Jones is catching some heat following a “dirty hit” on Brian Burns in the New England Patriots’ 24-6 win over the Carolina Panthers.
In the first quarter, Jones was strip-sacked by Burns and he grabbed onto his ankle as the defensive end tried to run forward — putting him on the sideline with a temporary ankle injury. Panthers’ Haason Reddick was furious with the play and vocalized that in his press conference following the game.
“Definitely thought it was a dirty play,” Reddick said. “I actually saw and witnessed the play while it was happening. At first it felt like he was trying trip or kick Burns. And the next thing you know I saw him tugging on Burns’ ankle. I thought it was completely dirty. Hopefully, it’s something the league addresses.”
Bill Belichick assessed the play on Monday and offered his take.
“I think he thought Burns had the ball,” he said.
Buffalo Bills linebacker Tyrel Dodson offered his opinion on Twitter and was clearly frustrated watching the play.
ARE YOU SERIOUS!??! THIS IS WHAT WE ARE DOING NOW!? UNPROFESSIONAL https://t.co/rO9DxD6sVP
— Tyrel Dodson (@tdots25) November 8, 2021
As Reddick mentioned, it’s possible the league fines Jones for endangering Burns.
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Buffalo Bills snaps counts depth chart breakdown vs. Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 14.
It was a tale of two games for the Bills against the Steelers in Week 14.
The first half didn’t go so well for the Bills (10-3), but the second half saw a whole new team come out of the locker room. This squad was too much for the Steelers (11-2) to handle, as Buffalo took a 26-15 win on primetime.
In terms of which players made the biggest impact on that mid-game swing, snap counts will tell us the story. Here’s a full depth chart breakdown of snaps played for the Bills against the Steelers in Week 14:
LB Tyrel Dodson activated from Buffalo Bills injured reserve list.
The Bills have activated linebacker Tyrel Dodson from their injured reserve list. The team announced the move on Saturday, one day prior to their Week 14 game against the Steelers.
Versus Pittsburgh (11-1), if active, Dodson will likely play a special teams role. In recent weeks, Buffalo returned starter Matt Milano to the lineup and he’s splitting reps on the team’s defense at linebacker with AJ Klein. Dodson is the third player in that pecking order.
Dodson, a former 2019 undrafted free agent signeee of the Bills, did make two starts on defense this season. Those came in Week 2 against the Dolphins in a 31-28 win and Week 5, a 42-16 loss to the Titans.
After missing his entire rookie season due to injury and off-field situations, Dodson has recorded 21 tackles, two for loss and one sack in 2020.
Dodson originally went on the team’s injured reserve list on Oct. 24 due to a hamstring injured. He was designated to return on Dec. 2.
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The Buffalo Bills made injured reserve moves with Matt Milano, Tyrel Dodson on Wednesday.
The Buffalo Bills have moved linebackers Matt Milano and Tyrel Doson to the designated to return portion of their injured reserve list. The team announced the moves on Wednesday.
While a change in label, both players are still on Buffalo’s injured reserve list. What the new tag means is that both players are now practicing with the team. In what capacity we won’t know because players on the injured reserve list don’t appear on weekly injury reports. But in some capacity, they’re on the practice field.
Milano and Dodson can now spent 21 days in this window of practicing but not being officially brought back to the team’s active roster. Rookie receiver Isaiah Hodgins (shoulder) is also currently in this spot as well, having been placed in the same window last week.
Milano was placed on injured reserve on Nov. 7. Milano currently has a pectoral injury but also missed time earlier this season with a hamstring issue. Dodson has been on IR since Oct. 24 with a hamstring issue.
A team will typically announce a day before their upcoming game if any players will be brought up to their active roster from injured reserve. Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott never gives away any intel to upcoming opponents, so don’t expect to hear any hints about whether or not Milano or Dodson will play in Week 13.
The Bills’ (8-3) next contest is on Monday against the San Francisco 49ers (5-6).
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Buffalo Bills injury updates for Matt Milano, Cody Ford, Jon Feliciano, Quinton Spain, John Brown, Cam Lewis, Tyrel Dodson, via Sean McDermott.
The Buffalo Bills suffered at least one key injury against the Kansas City Chiefs in their 26-17 Week 7 loss. Offensive lineman Cody Ford went down with a leg injury.
Ford appeared to grab his knee area when injured. He did not return to the game. Here’s what happened:
Thoughts on the Cody Ford injury, @BangedUpBills? pic.twitter.com/HWDGbq96g4
— Bradley Gelber (@BradleyGelber) October 19, 2020
On Tuesday, Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott did update Ford’s status via video conference. In typical McDermott fashion, he gave very little detail, calling Ford’s status “week-to-week.” Usually that means a guy will miss at least a game in McDermott language.
Along with Ford, the other two players on the Bills who were banged up against the Chiefs, cornerback Cam Lewis (wrist) and linebacker Tyrel Dodson (hamstring). McDermott also considered them week-to-week. Lewis appeared to be in line to have a bigger role on defense before suffering his injury only a few plays into the game.
On Ford, the clear-cut replacement would be former starter Quinton Spain. However, Spain’s injured and did miss Buffalo’s loss to the Chiefs with a foot injury. McDermott provided little update on Spain also, saying he’s still out and will be “re-evaluated” this week. If neither Ford or Spain can play in Week 8, Ike Boettger would step in, as he did against KC.
But adding to the “can’t give them a thing” mayhem, McDermott actually once did reference he’s not trying to give Buffalo’s upcoming opponent too much intel on player health… even if that opponent is the New York Jets. McDermott made such a comment when updating the statuses of offensive lineman Jon Feliciano and linebacker Matt Milano.
Feliciano is still on injured reserve but has had some recent limited practice recently suggesting he could be good to go soon. The coach did at least admit there’s been some discussion on having Feliciano back in the lineup.
“We’ll talk more about [Feliciano returning] today. (General manager) Brandon (Beane) and I have to revisit that this afternoon,” McDermott said.
Milano also has missed extensive time, on and off. Last week Milano did get practice time in as well, even in a full capacity, but still missed Buffalo’s recent outing. Both are “trending in the right direction,” per McDermott. Because of Milano’s full practices, one could speculate he could return against the Jets.
Both Feliciano and Milano are recovering from pectoral injuries. The pair would also help their respective struggling position groups once they return as well.
Finally, wide receiver John Brown is not fully health even though he play in all but one of Buffalo’s snaps on offense in Week 6.
Yeah, I think he’s a little sore. Still not 100 percent. Still working through it,” McDermott said on Brown, who has a knee injury.
Brown failed to record a catch in Week 6.
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Josh Allen and co. impressed against Miami in their week two victory
The Bills 31-28 victory over the Miami Dolphins had a little bit of everything: a power outage, a lightning delay, a goal line stand, and Josh Allen throwing for over 400 yards. At times, Buffalo looked electric on offense, with Allen hitting different receivers in different parts of the field. That was reflected in the first half as the team jumped out to a 17-10 lead before halftime. As the Bills offense started to get into gear, their defense bottomed out. Dolphins quarterback, and Bills fan favorite, Ryan Fitzpatrick ripped the Bills secondary to shreds, throwing for more than 300 yards.
The Bills relied on Allen, Stefon Diggs, and theior offensive weapons to win them the game in Miami, and they delivered. That’s new and that’s great.
Now let’s look at who performed, and who hindered the Bills vs. the Dolphins in this week’s stock report:
In two consecutive weeks Allen leads the charge for the Bills. Last week, he threw for a career-high 312 yards and contributed three touchdowns. This week, he threw for a staggering 417 yards and four touchdowns. Allen looked crisp from the jump, hitting the likes of Diggs, Cole Beasley, and John Brown in the center of the park, gashing the Dolphins in the process. In Buffalo’s Week 1 victory, most of Allen’s completions came within 15 yards from the line of scrimmage. This week he was pushing the ball downfield, hitting receivers John Brown, and Isiah McKenzie for over 40-yard gains.
While completing 68.5 percent of his throws, and throwing for four touchdowns, Allen is putting up some impressive numbers early in the season, let’s see if he can extend this run against a tougher Rams defense in week three.
Here’s another familiar face from last week. Diggs had a nice game against the Jets, but against the ‘Fins he had a miraculous game. The receiver had eight catches, for 153 yards, and one touchdown, his first with the Bills. Whenever Allen needed a big play he looked toward his new target, and for the most part, he delivered. Whether it was on third down, or starting a drive, Allen threw it Diggs way, and the Dolphins didn’t have an answer.
Diggs will have a massive challenge lining up against cornerback Jalen Ramsey against the Rams in Week 3, but he will definitely be up to the challenge and that’s going to be one of the best battles to watch this season.
Brown continued his streak of strong performances in a Bills uniform, with five catches, 82 yards, and one touchdown. His highlight catch was a 49-yard touchdown reception, where he lived up to his nickname ‘Smoke’ in that he completely smoked Miami’s secondary with his underrated speed. Miami seemed overly concerned about Diggs, leaving Brown with one-on-one matchups throughout the game. Allen and Brown exploited those matchups giving Buffalo big plays throughout the contest.
Ever since the offseason acquisition of Diggs, pundits have made claims that the Bills could have one of the deepest receiving corps in the league, and through Week 2 they’re living up to the hype.
In a week where the Bills missed their two starting linebackers, Tyrel Dodson had to fill the void left by Tremaine Edmunds, and for the most part he stepped up. Dodson was one of the vocal leaders on defense, and also third on the team in tackles with eight. While he doesn’t have the athleticism or length of Edmunds, he still was able to fill gaps in the run game and apply pressure to Fitzpatrick when called upon.
Dodson starting at linebacker every week isn’t what McDermott or Leslie Frazier want but he was an effective stop-gap against the Dolphins.
Receivers Cole Beasley and Gabriel Davis deserve a shout, Beasley’s 70 receiving yards set-up a majority of Buffalo’s touchdowns, and then Davis had an exceptional touchdown grab to give Buffalo the lead in the fourth quarter. Ed Oliver had a great sack on Fitzpatrick, and some decent tackles in the run game, but was largely ineffective throughout the game. Finally, fullback Reggie Gilliam, who had one catch, for one yard, and one touchdown, the first of his NFL career.
