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Vic Carucci lists the top 5 winners and losers for the first week of Free Agency:
Losers:
1. Buffalo Bills: New general manager Buddy Nix and coach Chan Gailey aren't exactly off to a scintillating start in giving long-suffering Bills fans any hope that their regime is going to bring an end to a 10-year postseason drought. It's true that the Bills have far too many needs than can be fixed in one offseason, but they are conspicuous by their relative inactivity beyond signing not-so-special, free-agent offensive tackle Cornell Green. Green could be a starter for the Bills, but that's less a reflection of how good he is than a sign of how desperate the Bills are for offensive line help. This team clearly seems focused on keeping its costs down -- which every team is able to do without a spending floor in place -- and doing everything it can to get better through the draft.
Tidbits:
It's understandable that defensive end Aaron Schobel is taking his time to decide whether he wants to return to the Bills. For one thing, he failed his season-ending physical exam because of an elbow injury that has since been surgically repaired. He needs to pass a physical to collect a $2 million roster bonus. But Schobel is putting off traveling from his offseason home in Texas to Buffalo for the second exam because he might follow through on retirement thoughts he expressed at the end of last season. One obvious reason would be the Bills' switch from a 4-3 to a 3-4 defense, which would require Schobel to switch to outside linebacker. He saw how poorly that worked out for Kampman, and player-personnel people with whom I've spoken have their doubts that Schobel would be any more successful despite how well he has played at end for most of his NFL career.
Losers:
1. Buffalo Bills: New general manager Buddy Nix and coach Chan Gailey aren't exactly off to a scintillating start in giving long-suffering Bills fans any hope that their regime is going to bring an end to a 10-year postseason drought. It's true that the Bills have far too many needs than can be fixed in one offseason, but they are conspicuous by their relative inactivity beyond signing not-so-special, free-agent offensive tackle Cornell Green. Green could be a starter for the Bills, but that's less a reflection of how good he is than a sign of how desperate the Bills are for offensive line help. This team clearly seems focused on keeping its costs down -- which every team is able to do without a spending floor in place -- and doing everything it can to get better through the draft.
Tidbits:
It's understandable that defensive end Aaron Schobel is taking his time to decide whether he wants to return to the Bills. For one thing, he failed his season-ending physical exam because of an elbow injury that has since been surgically repaired. He needs to pass a physical to collect a $2 million roster bonus. But Schobel is putting off traveling from his offseason home in Texas to Buffalo for the second exam because he might follow through on retirement thoughts he expressed at the end of last season. One obvious reason would be the Bills' switch from a 4-3 to a 3-4 defense, which would require Schobel to switch to outside linebacker. He saw how poorly that worked out for Kampman, and player-personnel people with whom I've spoken have their doubts that Schobel would be any more successful despite how well he has played at end for most of his NFL career.
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