Bills
The Bills got four-year extensions done with CB Christian Benford, DE Gregory Rousseau, and LB Terrel Bernard this offseason, but RB James Cook is without an extension as he enters the final year of his deal. Buffalo GM Brandon Beane said they are done doing long-term deals for the time being, but expressed their desire to keep Cook beyond 2025.
“Once we got Benford done, I don’t see us doing any deals anytime soon. We’re gonna focus on the draft and getting our cap in order,” Beane said, via Alec White of the team’s website. “We want nothing more, just like these other guys, for James to continue being a Buffalo Bill well past this season, but we are where we are, and there’s no hard feelings from us.”
Beane also commented on the revised contract for LB Matt Milano, which now has him set to be a free agent after the season.
“He’s working hard. And it definitely does not mean that this is Matt Milano‘s last year in Buffalo. By any means. We’ll take it one year at a time. We’ll play this out.”
Jets
Jets owner Woody Johnson has had a strong first impression of new HC Aaron Glenn since joining the team and is confident he can create a winning culture in New York.
“You saw his personality,” Johnson said, via Eric Allen of the team’s site. “He’s all football. Accountability. Very direct person. He’s been a success his whole life. Just an amazing career. He was a very high draft pick, performed exactly the way he was drafted and then after the draft, he’s been a success. I mean, a major success. He’s a different guy. He’s a football player. He’s got that authenticity that you can’t make up. You either are or you aren’t. So, leadership comes that way. I’m very impressed with Aaron, and if anybody can change anything in a winning culture, it’s Aaron.”
Johnson also praised new GM Darren Mougey.
“Mougey is pretty good, too,” Johnson said. “He’s a different guy. He’s been a guy who started as an intern and went all the way to become an assistant general manager on his own. I thought very, very thoughtful, and I think he’s got an extra gear in the way he processes information that I’ve been impressed with as a manager. A guy who can recognize manager talent. Very good, nuanced, honest with people, honest with players and staff. And also has a good, also has very good business sense, I think, which I think is important because business is basically logic and management. I’m very impressed with both.”
Johnson wants to give “100 percent” support to Glenn and Mougey.
“The biggest part is supporting Aaron and Moug in terms of what they’re trying to do and helping them and supporting them 100 percent, which I’m going to do,” Johnson said. “Just try to be as innovative, as creative as we can all be and be open to everything, particularly with the players. Better relationship with the players. I mean, you can all love your players at the end of the day, but if they don’t feel that, they’re not going to play for the best. And that comes from the coach. I know he loves the players, and Mougey loves the players. We all have to because the essence of the game is the player. That’s really what we’re all about. How do you get the most out of each player?”
Patriots
Patriots C Garrett Bradbury said that being released by the Vikings this offseason was a wake-up call for his career, and he is not bitter about the situation, feeling that he can take advantage of his new opportunity with New England.
“Had six great years in Minnesota. It’s a great locker room [and] built some really good connections there. And it ended, right? That’s the business,” Bradbury said Thursday, via the Boston Globe. “You never want to feel comfortable, but that’s a wake-up call. That’s, ‘Alright, here we go, that’s how they feel and they move on.’ There’s no ill will. I’m not bitter towards the Vikings. It’s just a new opportunity for me. I think when there’s a change, if you don’t take that opportunity, you’re not going to grow from it. So it’s more about, ‘Alright, I get to reinvent myself, I get to re-prove myself.’ And the minute you think you have it figured out, you’re gone.”
“New team, new chapter, new offense. What can I bring? And you have to bring it every day,” Bradbury added. “That’s the biggest thing I’ve learned — meeting room, practice, weight room. So not even a wake-up call, but it’s just new. It’s exciting. It’s a fresh start. New opportunity.”
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