Buffalo Bills

In the years since the Buffalo Bills signed star quarterback Josh Allen to a six-year, $258 million contract, the quarterback market has ballooned, to the point that Allen's $43 million in average annual salary ranks just 13th at the position.

That means that Allen is substantially underpaid at this point, though he isn't looking for a raise just yet, as he told reporters Tuesday:

"Listen, everyone is going to have their day," he said. "I'm happy that everyone is getting what they're worth, right? I think as the game progresses and guys keep getting paid, the market is the market. And I've got no problem with where I am at (financially) right now. I had my day a couple years ago, and I'm sure I'll have it again, you know? But I think the main thing is the main thing, and that's playing football to the best of my ability, and everything else will take care of itself."

Allen, 28, is a two-time Pro Bowler who has led the Bills to the playoffs in five straight seasons. Here are a few of the quarterbacks currently above him in average annual salary:

• Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars: $55 million per year, one Pro Bowl, one playoff appearance.
• Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers: $55 million per year, no Pro Bowls, one playoff appearance.
• Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins: $53.1 million per year, one Pro Bowl, one playoff appearance.
  
• Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals: $46.1 million per year, two Pro Bowls, one playoff appearance. 

And that's not to mention players like Jared Goff or Kirk Cousins, who have their fair share of playoff appearances and Pro Bowl selections but aren't nearly as dynamic as Allen.

Last season, the Bills' superstar threw for 4,306 yards, 28 touchdowns and 18 interceptions, completing 66.5 percent of his passes, while also rushing for 524 yards and another 15 scores.

Turnovers have been a problem, no doubt, but Allen is one of the five best quarterbacks in football, with at least 4,000 passing yards in four straight seasons, 30 or more touchdowns in three of the past four campaigns and 500 or more rushing yards in five of his six NFL seasons.

His current deal takes him through the 2028 campaign—and the Bills had to make major roster moves this offseason to escape salary cap hell, which included Allen restructuring his own deal—so a raise isn't in the cards at the moment.

But an extension will come at some point, and the market has dictated it will be an incredibly lucrative one.

As they enter the final week of the preseason, the Buffalo Bills have multiple players who are banged up.

Per ESPN's Adam Schefter, Bills head coach Sean McDermott announced that safety Damar Hamlin (hamstring) and wide receiver Curtis Samuel (turf toe) are considered week-to-week amid the team's other injuries:

Neither Samuel nor Hamlin played in Buffalo's preseason game against the Pittsburgh Steelers this past Saturday. The Bills earned a 9-3 win to improve their preseason record to 1-1 ahead of this Saturday's finale against the Carolina Panthers.

An eight-year veteran who began his career with the Panthers, Samuel is in his first year with the Bills after spending the last three seasons with the Washington Commanders. He signed a three-year deal with Buffalo in March and is expected to be a key part of the offense following the departure of star receiver Stefon Diggs, who was traded to the Houston Texans this offseason.

Unfortunately, the preseason has not been kind to the Bills. In addition to Hamlin and Samuel's respective injuries, veteran receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling suffered a neck injury against the Steelers and was removed from the game. Former Pro Bowl linebacker Matt Milano is out indefinitely after suffering a torn biceps during practice last week. Buffalo also released veteran receiver Chase Claypool from injured reserve via an injury settlement.

The Bills are hoping to finally break through and make it to the Super Bowl this season after years of consistently being in contention. The team will need to get healthy if it hopes to keep pace in the competitive AFC in 2024.

Chase Claypool is a free agent heading into the 2024 season.

The Buffalo Bills have reached an injury settlement with the wide receiver and he's now free to join a new team when healthy, per NFL Network's Mike Garafolo.

Per Pro Football Talk's Myles Simmons, the Bills placed Claypool on the injury reserve list earlier this week after he suffered a toe injury that left him day-to-day.

The Bills signed Claypool to a one-year deal in May, hoping to add some depth after Stefon Diggs was traded to the Houston Texans and Gabe Davis departed for the Jacksonville Jaguars in free agency.

The 25-year-old has been with four different teams since 2022, wrapping up the 2023 campaign with the Miami Dolphins after being traded from the Chicago Bears in October. He had 77 yards and a touchdown between his time with the Bears and Dolphins last year.

The best years of Claypool's career came during his first two seasons in the league with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The former second-round pick had 873 receiving yards and nine touchdowns in the air along with two rushing touchdowns during his rookie year in 2020 and added 860 receiving yards and two touchdowns in 2021.

Claypool was hoping to resurge his career with the Bills, who need receivers to step up this season, but he'll instead look to bounce back elsewhere.

The Buffalo Bills have informed the NFL via an "official request of interest" of their desire to host the draft in 2028 or 2029.

Bills Chief Operating Officer Pete Guelli revealed the news to Ryan O'Halloran of the Buffalo News.

The Bills are expected to open their new stadium in Orchard Park, New York in time for the 2026 season. It's unclear where the Bills would plan to host the NFL draft festivities, but as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk noted, it "possibly would unfold in and around the team's new stadium."

As for the next step, Guelli noted: "We're currently setting up meetings with other teams who had successful bids to get an understanding of what the process is and how we can position our bid."

The NFL draft was in New York from 1965-2014 but has since traveled from NFL city to NFL city. This year's draft took place in Detroit, and next year's is set for Green Bay. Pittsburgh will host the 2026 draft per an announcement made in May. Washington D.C. is looking to host the 2027 draft. Denver is considering submitting a bid for the 2027 or 2028 draft.

Buffalo would be a great place to host the draft. One can argue that the league's most passionate fanbase emanates from Western New York, and it wouldn't be a surprise to see people come out in droves for the draft. Of note, 775,000 people were in town for the draft in Detroit in April.

Having the draft in town also brings a great economic impact to the area, as University of Buffalo School of Management professor Charles Lindsey noted to Marlee Tuskes and Adam Gorski of WIVB 4.

"About two-thirds typically of that spending is direct — hotels, food and beverage would represent the vast majority of the direct category. Also retail, recreation, business services, transportation. But then you have, the other one-third is an indirect component. Businesses and vendors hiring temporary workers, and that extra money going to those temporary workers, then they're taking that money out and spending it in the community."

Given all the factors here, it's easy to see why the Bills would like to bring the draft to Western New York.

Buffalo Bills linebacker Matt Milano is "out indefinitely" with a torn bicep that will necessitate surgery, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported on Thursday.

Milano has hope of returning during the 2024 season, "possibly in December," per Schefter.

Milano left Tuesday's practice early with an apparent left arm injury, per Alex Brasky of Bills Digest. The injury occurred during a tackling drill, per Brasky.

This marks the second straight campaign in which Milano has been limited by injury after the former All-Pro linebacker suffered a season-ending leg injury in Week 5 of the 2023 season.

Bills head coach Sean McDermott said during a press conference on Thursday that it was too early to know whether Milano will return this season.

"We've got to move forward and focus on solutions," McDermott said, per Katherine Fitzgerald of The Buffalo News.

Milano's injury will test the Bills' depth at linebacker, likely requiring 2023 third-rounder Dorian Williams to take on a larger role in his second season with the team.

The team can also lean on Terrel Bernard, who proved himself to be a capable starter in Milano's absence last season.

The franchise has improved its linebacker depth since finishing out the 2023 season without Milano, adding another former Pro Bowler in Deion Jones, while selecting linebacker Edefuan Ulofoshio out of Washington in the fifth round of the 2024 draft.

Milano's absence is still sure to sting. He and Bernard only played four full games together before Milano's injury, and pairing them together for a full season would have been one of the highlights of the Bills' roster.

Milano recorded 99 tackles and 11 passes defensed in 15 games during his Pro Bowl campaign in 2022. He added 30 tackles and two passes defensed in 2023 prior to his injury.

Through seven seasons with the Bills Milano has recorded 39 passes defended, 39 quarterback hits and 488 tackles in 90 games. The 29-year-old has two years under team control remaining on his contract after the 2024 season.

Former Tennessee Titans and New York Jets wide receiver Corey Davis tried out for the Buffalo Bills, according to ESPN's Field Yates.

Davis, the No. 5 pick of the 2017 NFL draft, announced his NFL retirement following his 2022 campaign with the Jets.

He made 32 catches for 536 yards and two touchdowns during that most recent season.

The 29-year-old receiver is now looking to return to the league, Yates reported.

The Bills could be seeking to add an additional receiver to the roster after placing wideout Chase Claypool on the injured reserve with a toe injury.

Davis explained his decision to retire at age 28 in 2023 as a choosing "the best path for me at this time."

Davis began his career with four seasons with the Tennessee Titans, marking his most productive campaign when he recorded 984 receiving yards and five touchdowns as part of a tandem with A.J. Brown during the 2020 campaign.

The receiver next signed a three-year deal with the Jets in free agency. He played just two years of the contract before retiring with $10.5 million and no guaranteed money remaining on the deal.

Through six NFL seasons, Davis has made 273 catches for 3,879 yards and 17 touchdowns.

The former first-round pick out of Western Michigan could be eyeing the Bills' open fourth receiver slot. That's where Claypool slotted in on the team's initial depth chart behind Mack Hollins, Keon Coleman and Tyrell Shavers.

It is currently not clear whether Claypool will be eligible to return during the 2024 season. If Claypool remains sidelined by injury and Davis' workout went well, the former Jets and Titans receiver could potentially receive a shot at returning at the NFL.

The Bills could meanwhile add depth to their receiving pool in order to provide options for seventh-year quarterback Josh Allen outside of his favorite tight end target Dalton Kincaid.

Former West Virginia star and NFL wide receiver Tavon Austin announced his retirement from football in an Instagram post on Tuesday.

"No matter how hard you work or how badly you want something, sometimes God has other plans," he wrote. "I wasn't sure if I was ready to give up football, and it has been one of the most challenging decisions I've ever made. But after an incredible ten years, I'm officially retiring from the NFL."

Austin, 33, was dynamic in college, registering at least 100 receptions and 1,000 receiving yards in both his junior and senior seasons. His final college campaign in 2012 for the Mountaineers was particularly epic, as he caught 114 passes for 1,289 yards and 12 scores, alongside 643 rushing yards and another three touchdowns. He also had two return touchdowns that season.

That more than caught the eye of NFL evaluators, and Austin was selected by the then-St. Louis Rams with the No. 8 overall pick in the 2013 NFL draft.

His NFL career never came close to the heights of his college career, however. His best season came in 2015 with the Rams, when he caught 52 passes for 473 yards and five touchdowns, adding 434 yards and four scores on the ground. His 907 yards from scrimmage and 10 total touchdowns (he also had a kick return score) were each career highs, showing off his unique versatility.

He remained with the Rams through the 2017 season before disappointing and injury-plagued stops with the Dallas Cowboys (2018-19), San Francisco 49ers (2020), Green Bay Packers (2020), Jacksonville Jaguars (2021) and Buffalo Bills (2022).

"Football gave me more than a career," Austin wrote in his retirement post. "It gave me some lifelong friendships and molded so much of my character. It taught me how vital choices are and how decision-making affects you. Football created in me a mindset of relentless pursuit and hard work ethic! Football didn't always love me back, but it will always be my first love! I will forever cherish the time I spent in the NFL. It has indeed been a privilege."

Former WWE star and amateur wrestler Gable Steveson had a "great time" in his NFL preseason debut with the Buffalo Bills.

"Man, my first football game ever. Definitely a great time," he told reporters after Buffalo's 33-6 defeat to the Chicago Bears. "Definitely cool to see all the Buffalo Bills fans come out. Not the way we want it to end, but it's preseason. We're here to grow and we're here to get better."

Steveson added it's a "big adjustment" to go from an individual sport to one where he fits into a larger team.

"But just like you said, we prepared for this," he said. "Four equals one and we got four guys on that line that want to get one thing and that's the ball. So you got to do what you got to do."

Steveson signed with the Bills in May as an undrafted free agent.

The 24-year-old hadn't played organized football to that point, excelling instead on the mat. He was a two-time Division I national champion at Minnesota and won a gold medal in the 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. He was also signed to WWE but got released this past spring following a forgettable spell with the wrestling promotion.

Buffalo showed interest in the 265-pound defensive tackle dating back to 2021 on the heels of his Olympic success, so the partnership had been a long time coming.

Steveson finished with one tackle against the Bears. He and the Bills will be back in action Saturday against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott confirmed that Josh Allen and the rest of the team's starters will play roughly one quarter during a preseason matchup with Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears on Saturday.

"It's really, to me, it's getting them ramped up and ready to go for the season," McDermott explained, per ESPN's Alaina Getzenberg. "It's an important step, hard to simulate the speed of the game and so getting that in preseason is important, going through warmups and the energy that comes with playing a game in front of fans, and being able to manage that."

McDermott wants to ensure that Allen and the Bills' first-string unit shake off any rust in the preseason following a trip to the divisional round of the playoffs in 2023.

Allen has appeared in just four preseason games over the past three years, although he could see more action in 2024 after Buffalo's offense underwent several changes during the offseason.

Wide receiver Gabe Davis joined the Jacksonville Jaguars as a free agent, while four-time Pro Bowl wideout Stefon Diggs was traded to the Houston Texans on April 3. The Bills added former Washington Commander Curtis Samuel in free agency and Florida State standout Keon Coleman in the draft to replace their longtime stalwarts.

While Allen will play against the Bears, McDermott was noncommittal when discussing the quarterback's playing time in future preseason contests.

"We'll just take it one week at a time," McDermott said, per Getzenberg. "So, you know, there's a number of new faces on our offense also, including his receiving corps and so some of that is baked into this. But the biggest thing is individually we've got to get ourselves ready to go and go from there."

Allen is coming off a solid 2023 campaign despite recording a career-high 18 interceptions. He completed 66.5 percent of his passes for 4,306 yards and 29 touchdowns, adding 524 yards and 15 more scores on the ground.

With Caleb Williams reportedly set to take his first preseason snaps, Saturday's clash should feature a brief quarterback battle between the No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft and the No. 7 selection in the 2018 draft. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. ET.