Holcomb Deal Details: ESPN.com is reporting that the deal Kelly Holcomb will sign with the Bills is for four years and is worth $6.6 Million and includes a $2 Million signing bonus.
Holcomb Agrees: The Bills struck the market for a second time today. QB Kelly Holcomb has agreed to a deal in principle. He is expected to be introduced at One Bills Drive on Monday. Holcomb is an eight year veteran who has played in Cleveland the past four years. With Jeff Garcia gone, it was speculated that Holcomb would return to the starting job with the Browns. He started 12 games in Cleveland, two last year including a 413 yard, five touchdown performance against Cincinnati. He is a guy who could step into the starting lineup with ease if something were to happen to J.P. Losman of if he falters badly.
Bills Sign Gandy: The Bills made their first free agent splash as they have signed OL Mike Gandy. He has started 30 games in four years with the Chicago Bears. He has played both guard and tackle and could be a left tackle replacement for Jonas Jennings or a swing man along the line. Last year he started five games at right guard and in 2003 he started 14 games at left tackle. In 2002 he saw action at both guard and tackle and started 11 games.
What's Next? Now that the Bills have lost both Pat Williams and Jonas Jennings, what will they do? It is likely they will try to replace Williams from within with either Ron Edwards or Tim Anderson. Jennings' loss may require a shift along the line with perhaps kicking Trey Teague outside. It will be interesting to see who they bring in during the free agency period to sure up these areas. One thing is certain the losses hurt, which loss hurts more? Take our poll on the homepage and let us know what you think!
Thursday March 3, 2005
Losman Excited For Dream Shot: J.P. Losman met with the media today for the first time since being elevated to the starting job. He said he's very excited and has been waiting for this moment his whole life. He called it a dream shot but admitted it is a little overwhelming right now. He said he's working daily to get his leg back to 100% and he's pretty close. He's eager for the team to get back so he can work with them on a much closer level this year. He is looking forward to being a key element as the team progresses this year. Losman said he came back early to compete and get to the top of his game before learning he would be the starter. He feels confident he can lead the team to victory since the organization has shown so much confidence in him. He thought his relationship with Drew Bledsoe was great, he said he was very supportive all year. Losman hopes to have a guy like Shane Matthews back since he was a great help last year to him. He admits he'll need his teammates this year more than he will down the road. He needs them to have their best years now since he should be better in the future when he's more mature and experienced. His biggest challenge is earning the respect of his teammates and executing correctly on the field. Losman knows he is in a great situation with a stellar defense, a line with a heart, and receivers that are out of this world. He said he knows the offense will change with more rollouts added in, he also knows he has to slide down when running for the good of team even though he doesn't like to do it.
Jennings A 49er: The Bills have lost both big name free agents as the 49ers reached an agreement with Jonas Jennings on a seven year deal. It's worth $36 Million and has a $12 Million signing bonus. The Bills now have to fill a huge hole on both sides of the line. Front Office Page.
Williams A Viking: FoxSports.com is reporting that Pat Williams has agreed to a three year deal with the Minnesota Vikings where he'll be reunited with Ted Cottrell. The deal is reportedly worth $13 Million with a $6 Million signing bonus. Incentives can add up to another $2 Million to the deal. This leaves the Bills with a huge hole in the middle of their defense.
Wednesday March 2, 2005
Jennings Visits SF: Jonas Jennings made his first official visit on his free agent tour as he was in San Francisco to talk to the 49ers.
Jennings Not A Jet Yet: Sirius NFL Radio's Jay Glazer said today the report about Jonas Jennings having an imminent deal with the Jets is false. Jennings has all but closed the door on returning to the Bills since they have had no contract talks since the end of the season.
Williams May Visit Jets: The Jets may be courting both high profile free agents the Bills have. Sirius NFL Radio is reporting that they are trying to setup a visit with Pat Williams. His agent feels his days in Buffalo are probably over since no real contract talks have been had between the two sides since the season ended.
Jennings A Jet? Reports out of New York say the Jets are close to signing Jonas Jennings. If that happens the Bills will have a very significant free agent loss quickly making a move along the offensive line a must earlier rather than later. Tom Donahoe said updating the line is a priority. Jennings told AP that he wanted to come back to Buffalo and they had their chance to re-sign him but now he has to let his "star shine somewhere else." He was disappointed that the Bills say he was asking for too much money when they haven't even talked to him to find out how much he wanted.
Henry Deal Snag: It appears the Cardinals' interest in Travis Henry is falling off after they witnessed the top three running backs in the draft at the combine. The Cardinals will almost certainly be in position to take one of them and they are on record as coveting a draft pick for L.J. Shelton. The Bears now appear to be the front runner in gaining his service. If the Bills want to make the deal they may need to sweeten the pot with a draft pick of their own. Donahoe said that he has talked to five teams about Henry. If they lose out on Shelton and Jonas Jennings leaves via free agency as expected it would create a huge hole protecting J.P. Losman's blind side. It would also cost the Bills more money to fill that hole decreasing any chance of re-signing Pat Williams. It would be a huge blow to the Bills if they lost both players.
Tuesday March 1, 2005
Offers Tendered: The Bills have tendered offers to four players who were either restricted or exclusive rights free agents. Tendered were Josh Stamer, Jon Dorenbos, Kevin Thomas and RB Dante Brown. The Bills will have the right to match any offer Thomas receives. Since Stamer, Brown and Dorenbos are exclusive rights free agents their rights belong to the Bills and they can't solicit offers. Not tendered were Mike Pucillo and Joe Burns effectively making them unrestricted free agents. The Bills may try to re-sign Burns at a cheaper price than the tender offer would be.
Free Agency Set To Begin: Starting tomorrow the NFL off season frenzy known as the free agent signing period begins. The Bills stand to lose up to eight unrestricted free agents. The biggest names, Pat Williams and Jonas Jennings will command high salaries on the market and the Bills stand to lose one of them if not both. They may be gobbled up real quickly when the market opens. The Bills are around $8 Million below the salary cap giving them room to shop for replacements or other players on the market. Stay tuned to Bills Daily we will have constant updates as they become available.
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