Troupe visiting today.

[madness]

Per Vtext:

FA TE Ben Troupe is visiting the team's facility today.

[Pinkerton Security]

per v-text...

[ct bills fan]

confirmed & Good news

[Romes]

I was wondering why the Bills made BJ available to the press but not Troupe.

[madness]

...

Troupe was a highly touted tight end coming out of Florida in 2004 and was a second-round pick of the Titans (40th overall) four years ago. His best season was in 2005 when he was tied for second on the team with 55 receptions for 530 yards and tied for a team-high four touchdowns.
A fractured foot cut his 2006 season short as he played in just 10 games. Last season he was mainly relegated to special teams duties as Bo Scaife won the starting tight end job in Tennessee. As a result Troupe has made just 18 receptions the past two seasons.

But at just 25 years of age, Troupe still has the size (6'4" 270) and speed to present matchup problems in the passing game as he has impressive run after the catch ability.

http://buffalobills.com/news/news.jsp?news_id=5907

[madness]

Troupe also has New Orleans visit

<TABLE borderColor=#09347b cellPadding=10 width="95%" align=center border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=mediumrow style="BORDER-RIGHT: #548bb5 1px solid; BORDER-TOP: #548bb5 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: #548bb5 1px solid; BORDER-BOTTOM: #548bb5 1px solid" colSpan=2><TABLE style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #002d78 1px solid" width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD align=left>Today
</TD><TD align=right>Posted By: Chris Brown | Time: 8:52 AM ET | Link (http://buffalobills.com/blog/index.jsp?post_id=3068)

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>TROUPE ALSO HAS VISIT WITH SAINTS: According to the New Orleans Times-Picayune (http://www.nola.com/saints/t-p/index.ssf?/base/sports-4/1204611614284920.xml&coll=1&thispage=2) free agent tight end Ben Troupe also has a free agent visit scheduled with the Saints. The exact date is unclear. Much like the Bills the Saints tight end position is in a state of flux with Eric Johnson and Billy Miller both free agents. Drew Brees could be a pretty attractive selling point for the Saints with a pass catching tight end still looking to realize his full potential. ---</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

[madness]

Troupe arrived in town last night

<TABLE borderColor=#09347b cellPadding=10 width="95%" align=center border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=mediumrow style="BORDER-RIGHT: #548bb5 1px solid; BORDER-TOP: #548bb5 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: #548bb5 1px solid; BORDER-BOTTOM: #548bb5 1px solid" colSpan=2><TABLE style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #002d78 1px solid" width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD align=left>Today
</TD><TD align=right>Posted By: Chris Brown | Time: 9:32 AM ET | Link (http://buffalobills.com/blog/index.jsp?post_id=3071)

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>TROUPE ARRIVED IN TOWN LAST NIGHT: The free agent tight end got here last night and was taking a physical this morning which is customary procedure. He's at One Bills Drive now and is taking his free agent tour. We'll get comment from him at 2pm and have it in the multimedia section this afternoon on Buffalobills.com. --- </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

[bigbub2352]

After losing gaines, i say sign him, we need some depth and he is better than Matt Murphy, Ryan Nuefeld, and maybe Gaines, at 25 he could be a steal at TE, we need quality depth at the postion, then still draft TE on day one

[Mitchy moo]

confirmed & Good news
Nice!

[Mr. Miyagi]

Lock him up and also draft John Carlson. We'll run the 2 TE set along with Evans and Roscoe going deep, Reed in the middle, and Troupe/Carlson running curls 8 yards deep.

First down.

[The Spaz]

Which makes me think Bryant Johnson is still nearby, as Troupe and Johnson share the same agent.

[BigGabes23]

Lock him up and also draft John Carlson. We'll run the 2 TE set along with Evans and Roscoe going deep, Reed in the middle, and Troupe/Carlson running curls 8 yards deep.

First down.

YES!!! Or Fred Davis... I think one or both should be available in round two. I'm not sure how big of a pass catching force Troupe will be.

[kernowboy]

Carlson could be available as low as the 4th

[LifetimeBillsFan]

Which makes me think Bryant Johnson is still nearby, as Troupe and Johnson share the same agent.

I've been thinking pretty much along the same lines: with the two players sharing the same agent, the agent probably didn't want them both in town at the same time so that the Bills could play them off on one another in negotiations and because it would be hard for him to work on two contracts simultaneously--but, having them come in one after the other while he was in town would allow the two sides to get deals done for both players and hold a nice, big press conference when it was over if they did (also, with Johnson's deal likely being the more difficult to work out, if they didn't reach an agreement, he could discreetly slip out of town while attention was focused on Troupe).

Troupe, who visited with Tampa Bay over the weekend, has more suitors than B.Johnson so far, but, with the Bills losing Gaines to Detroit, the Bills may be willing to give him more money and a bigger opportunity to start in exchange for the flexibility to wait until the middle rounds to take a TE (Carlson, Rucker, etc.).