Buffalo Bills

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell believes the Buffalo Bills are in need of a new stadium.

"You've got to think long-term here," Goodell said Monday, per Marcel Louis-Jacques of ESPN. "This has been going on for decades and it's time to get a new stadium done that we can make sure the Bills are here and successful for many, many decades going forward.

"We're focused on keeping the Bills [in Buffalo] in a new stadium in a public, private partnership. That's what this is all about and that's where we're focusing."

Now known as Highmark Stadium, the Bills have been in the same venue in Orchard Park, New York since 1973. The team's current lease ends in 2023, and owners Kim and Terry Pegula are looking to build a new $1.4 billion stadium to replace it.

Tom Precious of the Buffalo News previously reported ownership is asking for the public to cover an "unprecedented" 100 percent of expenses for the new stadium.

The owners said in 2018 they couldn't afford to fund the new project themselves.

"We don’t have a billion-and-a-half dollars sitting around," Kim Pegula told Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News. "We used it to buy the team."

The Pegula Sports & Entertainment ownership group purchased the team in 2014 for $1.4 billion.

The ownership team now must work with Erie County to help fund a new stadium, especially with renovations to the current one out of the question.

"We're certainly beyond that," Goodell said. "I think a new stadium is what's needed. I think it's going to require a public, private partnership. I think the Bills, the community and the NFL are all going to have to come together and do that in a smart way."

As Louis-Jacques noted, the owners have threatened moving to other cities if a deal can't be reached.  

Fantasy managers saw some interesting things in the first half of the Buffalo Bills' game against the Chicago Bears on Saturday

Devin Singletary scored the first touchdown of the game on Buffalo's first possession. He ran by two Bears defenders and around a third on a 14-yard scamper to find the end zone. 

Singletary only played on the first two offensive possessions of the game for Buffalo. The third-year running back finished the day with 21 rushing yards, five receiving yards and one touchdown on three touches. 

This marks the second straight strong preseason outing for Singletary. He had 42 rushing yards and a receiving touchdown last week vs. the Detroit Lions. 

Betting on any Buffalo running back in fantasy is a good way to be disappointed. Josh Allen's breakout season in 2020 led the coaching staff to go heavy on the passing game. 

The Bills attempted 596 passes, compared to 411 rushing attempts last season. By comparison, the 2019 split was much closer to 50-50 with 513 pass attempts and 465 rushing attempts. 

Singletary did lead the Bills with 156 carries last season. He racked up 687 rushing yards and 269 receiving yards but only found the end zone twice in 16 games. 

Mike Tagliere of FantasyPros noted Singletary might not even be Buffalo's go-to back on early downs to start the regular season:

Singletary has produced RB2 or better numbers just 35.7 percent of the time, which is extremely poor for a running back who's averaged 14.2 opportunities per game. The Bills don't run the ball a whole lot, and it's extremley likely that Zack Moss is the better early-down back who will get more goal-line carries.

Singletary has only broken 100 rushing yards in a game once in 28 appearances over the past two seasons. He had two games with more than 100 yards from scrimmage in 2020. 

Another problem for Singletary is Allen's ability as a runner. Buffalo's star quarterback carried the ball 102 times and led the team with eight rushing touchdowns. 

Until the Bills give any indication they are going to run the ball on a consistent basis, Singletary is at best a backup flex option. 

One player on the Bills offense who could be worth keeping an eye on is Isaiah McKenzie. The fifth-year wide receiver had 72 yards on seven receptions in the first half. He also showed off his special-teams skills with a 35-yard punt return in the second quarter. 

McKenzie has been used sparingly in Buffalo over the past three seasons, though 2020 was the best year of his career. He only averaged 9.4 yards per reception on 30 catches, but finished third on the team with five touchdowns. 

Only Stefon Diggs (eight) and Gabriel Davis (seven) found the end zone more often among Buffalo receivers last season. 

As things stand with the Bills roster, McKenzie seems unlikely to get a high volume of targets during the regular season. Diggs, Davis and Cole Beasley will be Allen's top three targets. 

If one of those players gets injured, McKenzie's value will increase exponentially. If you play in a fantasy league with deep rosters, he's a player worth stashing at the start of the year to see how the Bills want to use him. 

Buffalo Bills left tackle Dion Dawkins spoke about his experience with COVID-19 in a conversation with reporters on Tuesday.

Among other things, Dawkins revealed that he spent four days in the hospital.

"Being in the hospital was probably the hardest part," Dawkins said, per Emily Adams of USA Today. "I was like man, I'm in the hospital, my team is out there working and I'm here. I'm not helping if I'm not present. They had me on fluids. They were just trying to get me back."

Dawkins said he had shortness of breath, fever, chills, a cough and was dehydrated, and he was even unsure he would ever recover.

Dawkins had just received his second shot when he tested positive for COVID-19, but he was not yet through the two-week window to be considered "fully vaccinated" yet, per Matthew Fairburn of The Athletic. He went on the COVID-19 list on July 28.

He said he was glad he got vaccinated and had this message for people who are considering whether to get the vaccine, "Try to think about others." He also said he shared his experience of having the virus with his teammates: "I just told them the honest truth of what I went through. ... Letting them understand that that's a point that you really don't wanna get to."

Dawkins is now working his way back to full strength but has a long way to go, per head coach Sean McDermott on Sunday.

"He's not close to where he needs to be to play and help us," McDermott said, per Jay Skurski of the Buffalo News. "He's got a long road here. He's going to control what he can control, and so are we. He's got to continue to work hard to get himself back to where he's—I mean, this is what, going on week four of training camp at this point? So, he's missed a lot of time."

Dawkins said he fell from 330-334 pounds to 318 while suffering from COVID-19, per Sal Capaccio of WGR 550.

The ex-Temple star has started every game for the Bills since Nov. 12, 2017. He's taken part in all 67 of the team's regular-season and playoff matchups since Buffalo selected him with the No. 63 overall pick in the 2017 NFL draft.

Dawkins played an integral role last year in the Bills finishing 13-3, winning the AFC East and reaching the AFC Championship Game. Buffalo finished second in points per game thanks in part to its stout offensive line.

The Bills will start the regular season on Sunday, Sept. 12 at home against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

After being one of the NFL's best quarterbacks in 2020, Josh Allen will now be paid like an elite player at the position. 

The Buffalo Bills announced Friday they have signed Allen to a six-year contract extension through the 2028 season. 

Per ESPN's Adam Schefter, the deal will pay Allen $150 million guaranteed and up to $258 million total.

In terms of average annual salary based on the total value, Allen's $43 million ranks second to Patrick Mahomes ($45 million). 

NFL QB Contracts (Total Value)

1. Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs ($450 million)

2. Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills ($258 million)

3. Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys ($160 million)

4. Deshaun Watson, Houston Texans ($156 million)

5. Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons ($150 million)

6. Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks ($140 million)

7. Jimmy Garoppolo, San Francisco 49ers ($137.5 million)

8. Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams ($135 million)

T9. Jared Goff, Detroit Lions ($134 million)

T9. Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers ($134 million)

Contract values via Spotrac.com

Despite the large salary figure attached to this deal, ESPN's Bill Barnwell is optimistic about the Bills' ability to keep building a team around their franchise quarterback:

As things currently stand, the Bills are mostly capped out for the next two seasons. They have $203.5 million in salary commitments in 2021 and $209.3 million in 2022, per Spotrac. 

NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported in May (h/t NFL.com's Nick Shook) that the NFL and NFL Players Association agreed to a $208.2 million cap ceiling for 2022. That figure does represent an almost $26 million increase from this season ($182.5). 

It's not until after the 2022 that the Bills really have to start worrying about their current players under contract becoming free agents.

Cole Beasley, Dawson Knox, Mitch Morse, Cody Ford, A.J. Klein, Tremaine Edmunds and Jordan Poyer are among the notable Bills players whose current deals expire after the 2022 season. 

One benefit of having Allen locked in to a long-term deal is the Bills know what their cap situation will be at the most important position on the field. 

Of course, the most obvious benefit of getting Allen's contract done is the Bills don't have to worry about what to do at quarterback until at least 2029. 

After an inconsistent start to his career in 2018 and 2019, Allen exploded onto the scene last year. The Wyoming alum threw for 4,544 yards and 37 touchdowns to help the Bills win the AFC East for the first time since 1995. 

During his rookie season three years ago, Allen was one of the worst quarterbacks in the NFL. 

Per The Ringer's Nora Princiotti, Allen's two-year improvement in completion percentage from 52.8 in 2018 to 69.2 in 2020 is the largest in NFL history. 

Thanks to Allen elevating himself to become one of the best quarterbacks in the league, the Bills advanced to the AFC Championship Game last season for the first time in 27 years. 

The Bills are returning virtually every key player from that 2020 squad, and they added high-ceiling edge rusher Gregory Rousseau from the University of Miami with the No. 30 pick in this year's draft. 

After a breakout 2020 season, Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen has been rewarded with a long-term contract extension. 

The Bills announced Friday that Allen has agreed to a six-year deal that will keep him with the organization through the 2028 season.

Per ESPN's Adam Schefter, Allen's contract extension includes $150 million guaranteed and can be worth up to $258 million.

There was a ticking clock on these negotiations, as general manager Brandon Beane told reporters earlier this week the two sides agreed not to hold talks once the regular season began if a deal couldn't be reached. 

"Josh and I are in lockstep on that," Beane said. "There will be no negotiating in-season. At some point we will press the pause button."

The 24-year-old is set to enter 2021 with just a $6.9 million cap hit in the fourth year of his rookie contract.

Allen is coming off a monster season in which he totaled 4,544 passing yards and 37 touchdowns, both top-five in the NFL, while adding 421 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns.

The production led to an 81.8 QBR that ranked third in the NFL behind only Aaron Rodgers and Patrick Mahomes, while the Associated Press voted him as a second-team All-Pro.

Buffalo thrived behind the talented quarterback, producing the No. 2 scoring offense in the NFL while finishing 13-3 and winning its first division title since 1995. A first-round victory over the Indianapolis Colts represented the franchise's first playoff win in 25 years, and the Bills reached the AFC Championship Game before losing to the Kansas City Chiefs.

It unsurprisingly led to talk of a "massive contract extension," as Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported in January.

Allen now has long-term financial security, while the Bills have locked down their face of the franchise for an extended stretch.

The 2018 No. 7 overall draft pick had always been known as an above-average runner, but he has made dramatic improvements as a passer over his three seasons in the NFL. After recording a 67.9 quarterback rating as a rookie, the mark jumped to 85.3 in 2019 and then 107.2 in 2020.

Allen's development gives him huge upside for the future, especially if he keeps picking up yards on the ground.

Josh Allen doesn't seem to be too worried about when he will receive a second contract from the Buffalo Bills.

"If it does [happen], great," Allen said, per Adam Schein of SiriusXM Mad Dog Radio (h/t Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk). "If it doesn't, great. I'm trying to be the best that I can be for this team this year. We've got a goal set. Like I said, it'll work itself out. ... When it happens, it happens. I'm at peace with it."

The Bills exercised the fifth-year option on Allen's contract in May, which means he is under contract through the 2022 campaign.

He is also eligible for an extension, although general manager Brandon Beane told WGR 550 (h/t Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk) the Bills will "probably put a deadline on [contract talks] at some point here in the preseason."

While the No. 7 pick in the 2018 draft struggled early in his career with accuracy, he turned the corner in 2020 as a Pro Bowler and completed 69.2 percent of his passes for 4,544 yards, 37 touchdowns and 10 interceptions while adding 421 yards and eight touchdowns on the ground.

The Wyoming product led the Bills to an AFC East crown at 13-3 and took them to the conference title game for the first time since the 1993 campaign.

Allen is just 25 years old, has a strong enough arm to make almost any throw and can make plays with his legs. He is already on the shortlist of the best quarterbacks in the AFC and is coming off a deep playoff run.

It seems inevitable that Buffalo will sign Allen to an extension at some point given his progression.