In the ongoing drama stemming from the Buffalo Bills' attempt to re-sign free agent wide receiver Stevie Johnson prior to the start of free agency, it had been widely reported and long assumed that the Bills were not interested in placing the franchise tag on their top wideout if a long-term deal could not be reached. GM Buddy Nix, however, has no idea where that thought process came from.
"You know everything's an option," Nix told WGR 550's Joe Buscaglia on Friday at the 2012 NFL Combine. "I read in the paper or somebody sent it to me the other day that we definitely were not going to tag him. I don't know who they talked to, I'd like to talk to them maybe see what we're gonna do with some of those other guys. So I don't know who the source was but they don't know, I can promise you that. Again, that's an option we've got until March 5 to decide."
Members of the Bills' front office, including Nix, will be meeting with Johnson's agent this afternoon to negotiate face-to-face, according to several reports.