A reporter for FOXSports.com spoke with Buffalo Bills wide receiver Stevie Johnson on Saturday; Johnson, a University of Kentucky alumnus, was approached at halftime of the Wildcats' win over Vanderbilt. Johnson confirmed reports of progress during ongoing negotiations between agent C.J. LaBoy and the Bills, and even gave us the first official timeline of the negotiation process.
"Progress was made," Johnson told Zac Jackson. "Hopefully, everything comes together within a week or so."
The week time frame may be encouraging to some, but it's also possible Johnson was speaking with a March 5 deadline for having the franchise tag applied to him in mind. That's a week from this Tuesday, giving the two sides roughly a week to finish an agreement before the Bills must act on that option.
Still, both agent and player have conveyed optimism regarding recent negotiations. (Those negotiations continued Saturday night, by the way.) A deal does not yet appear imminent, but after months of dormancy, these talks finally appear to be going somewhere.