Bills
- Baylor WR Denzel Mims said that the NFL teams he has talked to the most are the Eagles, Bills, Bears Colts, Jets, Cowboys, Rams, and Titans. (Stephen Simcox)
- Bills OT Daryl Williams‘ one-year, $2.25 million deal includes $250,000 guaranteed and carries a max value of $2.5 million through incentives. (Tom Pelissero)
Jets
Manish Mehta of NY Daily News reports that the Jets claimed they were cash poor during free agency, despite being worth an estimated $3.2 billion. Jets GM Joe Douglas told agents of free-agent players that the team was strapped for cash, according to Mehta’s sources.
Douglas deflected a question during a conference call this week about whether he had cash restrictions during the first two weeks of free agency.
“We’re trying to be as financially responsible as we can be,” Douglas said. “We’re comfortable about where we are right now with our cash flow, while also maintaining a certain level of flexibility. So, if the right opportunity presents itself, we can be proactive and go after a certain player. So, I would just say that we feel good about where we are now and where we are moving forward.”
Sticking with their theme of financial responsibility, the Jets signed several players to one-year rentals in free agency, setting the stage for New York to have a plethora of salary cap space next year.
Patriots
Patriots C David Andrews lost pretty much the entire 2019 season due to blood clots in his lungs. However, the 27-year-old nearly lost much more by trying to push through the symptoms before finally being diagnosed late in August.
“I had been dealing with some chest pains and troubling breathing, started coughing blood the first day we reported to training camp actually,” Andrews said via 24/7 Sports’ Rusty Mansell. “All of this was partly my fault, just being dumb and pushing through it. I thought I was sick and I really did not feel like myself. It was not like I was having a bad camp. I just was not having a consistent camp.”
Andrews made it through training camp and the third preseason game, but after not remembering a few plays from that game, doctors finally figured out what the issue was.
“Specialist comes out and says I have blood clots, I had no idea what that meant,” Andrews said. “I told the doctor I needed to get back home to let my dogs out, and from that point on, I knew it was serious. They would not let me leave and I spent five nights there. My first call was to my dog walker, actually. Then I had to call my wife and try to explain all of this. She was out of town. I actually called my former UGA teammate Clint Boling next. He was actually dealing with these this offseason, so I called him immediately because I knew he had dealt with that. He was great and introduced me to a doctor as well. Clint was just great to me. I really had no idea how dangerous it was.”
One of the ways the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has most impacted the NFL has been with injured players. Not only has it notably impacted the market for players like Cam Newton and Jadeveon Clowney, it’s made rehabbing existing injuries for other players more difficult. Without access to the team facility or medical professionals, they’re on their own.
“It’s definitely a tough situation. This is a time where you’re trying to get back full strength and you’re trying to get prepared for the season with all this social distancing, stay-at-home quarantine stuff going on,” Patriots special teamer Justin Bethel said via ESPN’s Mike Reiss. “When I first left, they gave me a sheet of stuff to do — exercise, stretches. Pretty much you have to do it on your own. If you can find a clinic that’s open that will help you out, you can do it. But even with that, you have to be very careful. Really, you just have to get it done however you can, and pray for the best.”
- The Patriots held a video meeting with Florida International QB James Morgan. (Mike Reiss)
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