Tag: Zack Moss

B/R hands Bills’ 2020 rookie class high mark

Buffalo Bills 2020 rookie class handed a top grade for their rookies.

The Bills didn’t leave the 2020 NFL Draft with the sexiest haul. That’s what not having a first-round pick does to you.

Still, Bleacher Report recently graded every draft class from the recent rookie selection extravaganza and graded them after their first full seasons. Despite the lack of high-profile prospect, the Bills (13-3) still landed with a promising mark.

Overall, B/R handed Buffalo an ‘A’ which is the top mark the outlet handed out. Here’s how B/R broke down the Bills’ rookie class:

The Buffalo Bills walked an interesting tight rope with their draft haul.

Second-rounder A.J. Epenesa tallied only one sack while playing 27 percent of the defense’s snaps, and fourth-rounder Gabriel Davis surprised by finishing third on the team in receiving with 35 catches for 599 yards and seven scores.

Third-round running back Zack Moss had 112 carries, scoring four times and averaging 4.3 yards per carry. He has the look of a long-term breakout alongside Devin Singletary.

The Bills didn’t have a major need for backup quarterback Jake Fromm, but sixth-round kicker Tyler Bass hit 28 of his 34 attempts, including four of six from 50-plus yards. Epenesa needs some time, but this group’s across-the-board rookie production suggests it has a bright future.

Much of Buffalo’s rookie group looks promising because of future potential, none of them rookie “broke out” in their first seasons, but it’s nice to see B/R recognizing that. Moss and Epenesa, the top-two picks for the Bills, weren’t asked to do much, but they had their moments. As the year went on, both started to see larger roles.

Undoubtedly the most promising of the entire haul is the kicker. While struggling due to weather in the Bills’ AFC Divisional round win vs. the Ravens, overall, for a first-year pro, Bass certainly improved as the season rolled on. His future looks bright.

 

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Bills’ Devin Singletary on bigger role without Zack Moss: ‘I’m ready for it’

Buffalo Bills RB Devin Singletary following Zack Moss injury, facing the Baltimore Ravens.

Buffalo Bills running back Devin Singletary is going to be relied upon more than he has recently against the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday.

The Bills (13-3) topped the Indianapolis Colts to advance to this weekend’s AFC Divisional round matchup, but that didn’t come without loss. Rookie running back Zack Moss’s season came to an end because of an ankle injury.

With him, the Bills were essentially splitting carries between Singletary and Moss. Without Moss, it’ll be more of “Motor” and he’s locked in.

“It’s a great opportunity,” Singletary said via video conference. “I could be getting more of the workload, but I’m built for it, I’m ready for it. I know the team has confidence in me, I got confidence in me.”

Now in his second season, Singletary hasn’t overly impressed. Moss really hasn’t, either. Some of that has to do with Buffalo’s passing offense taking off this year thanks to quarterback Josh Allen’s emergence and the Bills simply haven’t ran the ball as much because of that.

Plus when running backs split carries, the idea is that it make it tougher for them to settle into a game. Without Moss, could that help Singletary? While not dismissing his teammate’s abilities in the slightest, Singletary did admit there’s some truth to that.

“The more plays you get or whatever it may be, it’s definitely easier to get into the flow, we’re going to see how it plays out on Saturday,” Singletary said. “No matter how many opportunities, if it’s a lot or a little you’ve got to be ready, that’s been my mindset all year.”

In 2020, Singletary’s dip is displayed by his yards per carry which dropped from 5.1 a year ago to 4.4. Not awful, but not as good, either.

Not only will Saturday vs. the Ravens (11-5) be an opportunity for Singletary to show he’s better than those numbers, it’ll be a chance for him to show he’s better than he was when Moss first missed time. From Weeks 3-5 at the start of 2020, Moss missed time with a hamstring injury.

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

Even so, the most important analysis of Singletary’s game is the one from the top. Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott approved of the way Singletary has preformed this year.

“I think his role has been pretty consistent. Sometimes the ebbs and flows of a game cause the load of who gets the carries to fluctuate from week-to-week. His role has always been the same for us and our confidence in Motor has always been very high,” McDermott said via video conference.

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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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Bills sign RB Devonta Freeman to practice squad

RB Devonta Freeman signed to Buffalo Bills practice squad.

The Buffalo Bills added some insurance to their running back room for their postseason run in light of the team’s recent loss of running back Zack Moss.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, veteran rusher Devonta Freeman has signed with the Bills’ practice squad on Tuesday.

Just on Thursday, Freeman was released from the New York Giants’ injured reserve list. The 28-year-old dealt held out for a better fit after not signing with a team this past offseason and landed in New York after the Giants lost star running back Saquon Barkley for the season in September. Freeman was essentially released last week in case an opportunity such as the one with the Bills came up. He only signed a one-year deal with the Giants and was slated to become a free agent regardless.

Due to hamstring and ankle issues, plus time on the COVID-19 list, Freeman barely made an impact with the Giants. In five games played, he only averaged 3.2 yards per carry.

Freeman is likely to be an emergency option for the Bills following Moss hurting his ankle in the Wild Card round win for Buffalo vs. the Indianapolis Colts. Backups TJ Yeldon and Antonio Williams are more likely to be considered backup options to Devin Singletary in Saturday’s divisional round matchup with the Baltimore Ravens.

On Monday, Bills head coach Sean McDermott did not reveal any plans for how he will deal with the No. 2 behind Singletary.

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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 RB Zack Moss now confirmed out for remainder of playoffs

RB Zack Moss is out for remainder of Buffalo Bills playoffs due to an ankle injury.

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The Buffalo Bills have officially lost running back Zack Moss for the rest of their playoff run.

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport on Monday, Moss’ season is over after he suffered an ankle injury at the start of the fourth quarter on Saturday during Buffalo’s 27-24 Wild Card win over the Indianapolis Colts.

The update goes along with a previous report from Sunday that said the Bills “fear” Moss will have his season come to an end. Evidently, that report held true.

On the play that Moss was injured on, a defender fell awkwardly on his leg, causing an ankle injury.

Moss only had 21 yards on seven carries in the win vs. the Colts. He had four catches for 26 yards as well.

Since the middle point of the 2020 season, Moss has gradually started to take over as Buffalo’s No. 1 rusher, slightly edging out Devin Singletary in terms of snaps played most weeks. Without Moss, Singletary will lead a backfield that could include T.J. Yeldon and Antonio Williams, who is on the Bills’ practice squad.

Singletary had three carries for 21 yards against Indy himself.

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Bills RB Zack Moss now confirmed out for remainder of playoffs

RB Zack Moss is out for remainder of Buffalo Bills playoffs due to an ankle injury.

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The Buffalo Bills have officially lost running back Zack Moss for the rest of their playoff run.

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport on Monday, Moss’ season is over after he suffered an ankle injury at the start of the fourth quarter on Saturday during Buffalo’s 27-24 Wild Card win over the Indianapolis Colts.

The update goes along with a previous report from Sunday that said the Bills “fear” Moss will have his season come to an end. Evidently, that report held true.

On the play that Moss was injured on, a defender fell awkwardly on his leg, causing an ankle injury.

Moss only had 21 yards on seven carries in the win vs. the Colts. He had four catches for 26 yards as well.

Since the middle point of the 2020 season, Moss has gradually started to take over as Buffalo’s No. 1 rusher, slightly edging out Devin Singletary in terms of snaps played most weeks. Without Moss, Singletary will lead a backfield that could include T.J. Yeldon and Antonio Williams, who is on the Bills’ practice squad.

Singletary had three carries for 21 yards against Indy himself.

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Report card: Bills top Colts, 27-24 in Wild Card

Report card for Buffalo Bills in Wild Card win vs. Indianapolis Colts.

The Buffalo Bills knew they were going to get some tougher competition come playoff time. That’s exactly what happened with the Indianapolis Colts on Wild Card weekend.

The Bills did take home the 27-24 win, but the Colts certainly made them work for it.

Following the Bills’ first playoff win in 25 years, here’s how Bills Wire graded Buffalo out in this week’s report card:

Report: ‘Fear’ that Bills could have lost Zack Moss for playoffs

Update to injury suffered by the Buffalo Bills’ Zack Moss.

The Buffalo Bills win against the Indianapolis Colts didn’t cone without some injury issues. In that 27-24 victory against the Colts, Buffalo running back Zack Moss suffered an ankle injury

Early in the fourth quarter, bodies landed on top of Moss. The running back was carted off the field leading one to believe it was a tough injury he suffered. Per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, that might just be the case as he reports there’s “fear” the rusher’s postseason could be over:

Moss only had 21 carries on seven carries in the win vs. the Colts. He had four catches for 26 yards as well.

Since the middle point of the 2020 season, Moss has gradually started to take over as Buffalo’s No. 1 rusher, slightly edging out Devin Singletary in terms of snaps played most weeks. Without Moss, Singletary will lead a backfield that could include TJ Yeldon and Antonio Williams.

Singletary had three carries for 21 yards against Indy.

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Bills RB Zack Moss carted off with injury vs. Colts

RB Zack Moss was injured vs. the Indianapolis Colts in Wild Card round.

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(Update: 3:31 p.m.): The Bills quickly announced the Moss was doubtful to return with an ankle injury.

Previous coverage:

The Bills are down to running back Devin Singletary against the Colts. In the Wild Card round matchup, running back Zack Moss had his leg twisted up as he was tackled earlier in the fourth quarter.

Moss dropped the ball, but was ruled down on the play. Moments later, a cart came out for Moss and he was taken into the locker room.

Bills Wire will provide updates as they become available.

Without Moss, only Singletary remains at running back for the Bills. Backup TJ Yeldon was named as an inactive prior to kickoff while undrafted rookie Antonio Williams is on Buffalo’s practice squad.

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