After having his play-calling duties stripped at the end of the 2015 regular season, Buffalo Bills linebacker Preston Brown will once again have that responsibility in the 2016 season, according to head coach Rex Ryan.
Rex Ryan says LB Preston Brown will return to being the main signal caller this season. But Reggie Ragland is... https://t.co/ZFhFJppopH
— Mike Rodak (@mikerodak) May 6, 2016
You may recall that Brown, who played over 98 percent of the Bills' defensive snaps last season, ceded play-calling responsibilities to veteran Manny Lawson late in the season. That began a fairly tumultuous offseason for the third-year linebacker, one in which he was called out a bit by his head coach on multiple occasions, and which culminated with the drafting of new starting linebacker Reggie Ragland in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft after a trade up.
Brown is still going to start for the Bills this season - alongside Ragland, and with free agent signee Zach Brown potentially serving as a passing-down option at the position - and, for now, he'll re-assume the mantle of relaying plays in the huddle and lining up his teammates correctly. It's a big responsibility - one that Ragland isn't ready for, and that an every-down player needs to hold, so while Brown may be a default option, he nonetheless has a shot to seize the opportunity and run with it, especially with an improved supporting cast around him.