Bills
The Bills made big changes to the roster last offseason, which accounted for $75 million in dead money. Brandon Beane reflected on last year and how their younger players stepped up to answer critics.
“There’s a lot of time sitting around like this between practices,” Beane said, via Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated. “Just what I felt was a group that enjoyed the, Hey, people don’t believe in us. They think we missed our opportunity, including Josh Allen. And like, Oh, you can’t win without … you know, some of the players that we moved on from. And I think that was kind of like, We’re not gonna say anything, say what you want. And that’s probably what gave me the most confidence, you felt an edge, a chip on this group. But they still had to go do it.”
Beane points out that they needed to let veterans go to avoid letting younger options walk away.
“You know if you’re starting to age at certain positions,” Beane said. “Plus, you’re looking at guys that are gonna be coming up on, where you can sign and extend them, three-plus years after they were drafted. So you’re balancing that because if you don’t start making some decisions with some of these veterans or higher-price contracts, you’re gonna be forced to let more guys walk.”
Beane continued to elaborate on how they structured last season’s roster.
“As you start to formulate the 53 for that year, it’s all right, who’s going into their last year?” Beane said. “Who’s gonna have one more year, but maybe it could be a sizable cap number, where you either have to convert them or maybe move on from them? You gotta make a decision. And so, you’re not locking your knees there, but you’re going. We’re gonna have X number of guys we got to make decisions on. And then you play the year out. How do they look? Do they look like they’re in decline? Are they staying the same? And then, do you have a young ascending player at that position?”
Dolphins
Dolphins HC Mike McDaniel spoke on the team’s decision to bring in QB Zach Wilson as a backup on a one-year, $6 million deal.
“We thought he was the best option for us,” McDaniel said, via DolphinsWire.com. “He was very much … a direct, calculated target. We thought that was a way that the Miami Dolphins could get better, and we are excited to see how he seizes that opportunity. I watched every snap of his collegiate play, and he was a phenomenal talent that, in my opinion, didn’t have reps in an NFL pocket yet. At BYU, he was launching it from about 10 and 11 yards deep. You’re not in the phone booth, and so my estimation, there was going to be some nuanced growth to his game that I think it is close to impossible to excel that early in that new form of football that he was playing.”
“If you have adversity in your life, that can be a source of strength and growth, or it could be a source of, alright, that’s what defines you and you can’t get over that,” McDaniel added. “What I see in Zach is the experience of being the second pick in the draft, being the starter in Week 1, and then not fulfilling the rookie contract. That is behind him. To me, that’s an exciting prospect because you can’t put a measurement on that human ability that is huge at the quarterback position.”
Patriots
Patriots HC Mike Vrabel believes New England made a strong impact on their roster by adding players in free agency and will continue to build through the draft and picking up players afterwards.
“We’re continuing to find ways to strengthen the roster, to improve our roster, to add competition,” Vrabel told NFL Network’s Judy Battista. “I think that’s something that’s critical in a 90-man roster is that there’s competition throughout the roster. We were able to add what we feel are premium players at every level of the defense that can help us. Those players that are currently on our team and the ones that we’re adding, I feel like we like the person as much as the player, and I feel like that’s important when you talk about free agency.”
Vrabel was asked about WR Stefon Diggs, but would not speculate about when he could return to full health from his injury. Vrabel also commented on QB Drake Maye, whom Diggs mentioned he was excited to work with.
“The more that he can do, the more that we’re going to continue to give him and put on his plate,” Vrabel noted. “He’s working hard to get healthy, so not going to put a timeline on that or any sort of prediction on when he’s gonna be back, but I know he’s working hard. Extremely confident in how hard he’s working.”
“He’s young, energetic, excited,” Vrabel added. “He’s just got this very young face, you know what I mean, he’s 22 years old. And he’s ready to learn. He’s hungry to take the next step, and he’s excited about helping us build a program that everybody’s proud of and is headed in the right direction.”
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