Good morning, Buffalo Bills fans! If you're checking in this morning hoping to find shiny new toys for the Bills to play with next season, you're out of luck - there have not been any reports on signings or visits related to the Bills thus far. However, plenty went on last night that could effect the Bills in the very near future; here's a recap of those activities quickly:
Omar Kelly, a Dolphins blogger for the Sun-Sentinel, believes that competition for Ernest Wilford's services will be between the Bills and the Dolphins. A couple of shaky rumors broke about both teams and Wilford last night - one "source" said the Dolphins would lock Wilford up today, while the other "source" said that Wilford would give the Jaguars a chance to match a Bills offer. None of it should be taken seriously (yet); just know that since the Jags are wooing Jerry Porter (and should officially announce their trade for Troy Williamson today) and the Dolphins are busy, the Bills have a real shot at landing their supposed top target.
The Minnesota Vikings, who last night were in trade talks with the Houston Texans in regards to QB Sage Rosenfels, are now reportedly interested in J.P. Losman. The Vikings offered a third-round pick for Rosenfels, but rumor has it that they'll only offer a sixth for Losman. If that's true, he'll stay a Bill.
The DT market, bolstered yesterday by a bunch of trade-marketed veterans, is thinning quickly. Franchised defensive tackle Corey Williams is heading to Cleveland in what will eventually be a sign-and-trade; the Dolphins are currently talking trade with Dallas in regards to NT Jason Ferguson; and Kris Jenkins has officially been traded to the New York Jets. To boot, the Saints today are expected to complete a trade for LB Jonathan Vilma, blowing apart a potential three-way trade involving Shaun Rogers. That means that three defensive tackles - Detroit's Shaun Rogers, Jacksonville's Marcus Stroud and the Jets' Dewayne Robertson - are all still available, and the pool of teams interested in their services is dwindling. I expect the Broncos to really push hard for a Rogers trade now; if the Bills are going to make a move for any of these guys, they'll have to do it quickly, because John Clayton believes that the trade market will move fast.
Other popular free agent names mentioned among Bills fans - LB Lance Briggs chief among them - have not had any serious activity linked to them yet. That's expected to change today, but at least from our distant point of view, the Bills are still players.
I'd like to publicly thank jri111 and WABillsfan for putting together two excellently detailed open threads last night as the early stages of free agency unfolded. Both did a fantastic job, and I, for one, am glad that they chose to forgo sleep for a few hours. We'll take it from here, gentlemen - rest easy.
Keep it locked in to Buffalo Rumblings throughout the day, as we'll be working hard to track all Bills-relevant movement. Remember, too, that you all have the power to keep us updated as well by posting in the diaries section. If you don't have an account, create a free one and hop into the discussions! Go Bills!