Doug Whaley served as general manager of the Buffalo Bills for four seasons until he was fired on April 30, 2017 after posting a 30-34 record with one winning season and no playoff appearances. Whaley’s impact on the current Bills roster is diminishing by the day: less than one year after he was replaced by Brandon Beane as Buffalo’s general manager, there are only 13 members of the Bills who were acquired by Whaley during his time as general manager.
The remaining players from Whaley’s tenure include LB Lorenzo Alexander, TE Charles Clay, LS Reid Ferguson, DE Jerry Hughes, LG Richie Incognito, G Ryan Groy, RB LeSean McCoy, G John Miller, T Jordan Mills, P Colton Schmidt, and DT Adolphus Washington, and two exclusive-rights free agents who were tendered; TEs Nick O’Leary and Logan Thomas.
Of this group of holdovers from the Whaley era, there are only a handful of impact players who appear to be safe bets to be with the team in 2018 and beyond. That group includes:
- McCoy, Buffalo’s dynamic lead tailback who surpassed 10,000 career rushing yards en route to another Pro Bowl appearance in 2017.
- Schmidt, who enjoyed a sensational 2017 season after averaging 44.7 yards per punt.
- Incognito, who earned another Pro Bowl nod and recently had the final year of his contract restructured to save the Bills money.
- Clay, who has produced when healthy but also carries a cap hit of $9 million in 2018 and 2019.
- O’Leary, who enjoyed a career year catching 22 passes for 322 yards with two touchdowns in 2017 and could replace Clay’s production at the tight end position.