Buffalo Bills

The Buffalo Bills announced Tuesday that they agreed to terms on a one-year contract with free-agent safety Kareem Jackson.

Buffalo signed the 36-year-old veteran in the wake of safety Mike Edwards suffering a hamstring injury during training camp. Bills head coach Sean McDermott noted that Edwards is "week-to-week."

Jackson, who is set to enter his 15th NFL season, spent parts of 10 seasons with the Houston Texans and parts of five seasons with the Denver Broncos.

Houston originally selected Jackson with the No. 20 overall pick in the 2010 NFL draft after he starred collegiately at Alabama, winning a national championship in 2009.

Jackson was a cornerback for essentially the entirety of his first stint with the Texans, during which time he recorded 16 interceptions, but he was moved to safety when the Broncos signed him prior to the 2019 season.

In 69 regular-season games with the Broncos, Jackson reeled in 342 tackles, 22 passes defended and six picks, but the team never made the playoffs during his tenure.

When it became clear that the Broncos were going to miss the playoffs again last season, Denver released Jackson in December, allowing him to return to Houston via a waiver claim.

Jackson appeared in two regular-season games for the Texans in 2023, and played in one of their two playoff games as well.

All told, Jackson has 22 career interceptions in 203 NFL games, and he brings a wealth of experience to the Buffalo secondary.

Since 2017, the Bills' starting safety duo was Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde, but that will finally change in 2024.

Buffalo released Poyer, who went on to sign with the Miami Dolphins, while Hyde hit free agency and is expected to retire.

In an effort to replace them, the Bills re-signed Taylor Rapp, signed Edwards away from the Kansas City Chiefs in free agency and selected Cole Bishop in the second round of the 2024 NFL draft out of Utah.

Depending on Edwards' recovery, Rapp and Bishop are the likely starters right now, although Damar Hamlin and now Jackson could figure into the mix as well.

More likely, Jackson is veteran depth who can help replace some of the leadership lost from the departures of Poyer and Hyde.

Von Miller clearly played the 2023 season at less than 100 percent after suffering a knee injury in 2022, failing to register a sack in 12 regular season games.

On Thursday while speaking with reporters, he acknowledged that he probably shouldn't have played last year at all:

That's probably what should have happened, but I didn't want that to happen. I wanted to be out there and play. If I was 50 percent, like, nobody was going to stop me from going out there. [Bills general manager Brandon] Beane wasn't, nobody was going to stop me from going out there. But the truth, just being honest with you guys, my knee wasn't at a place where I could go, and I could move, and I could do the things that I wanted to do. I mean, I could play, but that was just about it.

Miller, 35, had never gone an NFL season without a sack and had seven seasons with double-digit sacks in his prime. He hasn't pulled off that feat since 2018, but still averaged 6.3 sacks per year between the 2019-22 campaigns.

That made 2023's goose egg in the sacks department all the more surprising.

"I only know one way to view things, and that's the most optimistic way, and I wanted it to go better than what it was," Miller said. "I wanted to go out there and get 15 sacks, that'd put me in the top 10 all time. I wanted all of those things to happen, but the universe just had other plans for me and nothing in life is by coincidence, so I'm here now, year three [with the Bills], I'm feeling good and I'm ready to go."

The Bills need Miller to have a bounce-back year after being forced to cut ties with a number of veteran players for cap-cutting purposes. He agreed to a restructured contract this offseason to aid in those efforts.

Granted, Miller probably isn't going to reach the levels that made him an eight-time Pro Bowler and three-time first-team All-Pro selection at the height of his powers. But generating more consistent pressure and at least tallying a handful of sacks would certainly be a help.

No Stefon Diggs, no Gabe Davis and no championship hopes for the Buffalo Bills?

Not so fast.

One of the team's most famous fans certainly isn't giving up hope heading into the 2024 season, especially with his good friend in Josh Allen under center.

"I think they're still in a window where they have the ability and the opportunity to go all the way," F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo told Bleacher Report. "I'm excited."

Ricciardo specifically mentioned incoming rookie wide receiver Keon Coleman as someone who has "made a lot of noise," but the second-round pick who had 11 touchdown catches last year at Florida State is just one of the replacements at wide receiver. Buffalo also signed Curtis Samuel, Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Chase Claypool for more depth at the position.

He may not be able to completely replicate the production of Diggs after he was traded to the Houston Texans and Davis after he signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars, but Samuel is a versatile playmaker who can impact the game as a receiver or runner and play on the outside or the slot.

And Valdes-Scantling just won the Super Bowl with the Kansas City Chiefs.

They also have one of the game's best quarterbacks in Allen to bring everyone together as he looks to lead the Bills to their sixth straight playoff appearance and perhaps get over the hump and reach the Super Bowl.

"I've gotten to know Josh a little bit over the years," Ricciardo said. "I think that if anyone is writing them off, that's where he will shine. I think he will bring that group together so much. There's been times when we've Facetimed and he's at home and he's got literally the entire team, and they're just bonding and hanging out.

"He's definitely a people person, and that's only going to help in the situation they're in. I've got high hopes."

Those high hopes come from someone who has embraced becoming a Bills fan so much that he traveled to see Allen play at MetLife Stadium in 2022 and again in London last season. Part of that experience even included catching passes from the quarterback ahead of one of the games:

Having a catch with QB1. 😁@DanielRicciardo | @JoshAllenQB pic.twitter.com/gzzcKXOG9z

— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) November 6, 2022

But there is still one step remaining to become a full member of Bills Mafia.

"I need to get to Buffalo," Ricciardo said. "That's a thing I've been missing. I've seen them in New York and I saw them in London, but I need to go to a home game. I do want to get to Highmark before they move on. Even though people say the stadium is outdated and that's why they're building a new one, I want to go there and experience it and the grittiness of it. Fingers crossed I somehow get there this year."

Going to Highmark Stadium before the Bills move into a new building would be another step in the genuine friendship between Allen and Ricciardo.

The pair met in Monaco in 2019 and have frequently discussed how quickly they bonded and how their friendship has grown through their respective athletic careers.

But what would that friendship look like if the pair went in on a racehorse together?

That is a question they explore in the amusing short film The Legend of Ricallen, which will premiere on Wednesday at 10 a.m. ET and 7 a.m. PT on LegendOfRicallen.com. The film, which was done as part of a partnership with Beats by Dre, follows Allen and Ricciardo as they go on quite an adventure to find the perfect racehorse.

"It is definitely ridiculous in all the good ways," Ricciardo said of the film. "Normally, filming days or sponsor days, by the end of the day you're pretty wrapped. But we could have stayed longer, we were just laughing the whole day. It was so ridiculous, and we had so much fun working together."

While fans will have to wait until Wednesday for the film, Allen and Ricciardo both posted teasers ahead of the release of Monday's trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvbVSr9aBkU

More like Josh Stallion @JoshAllenQB #beatspartner pic.twitter.com/IjhVdJPjv6

— Daniel Ricciardo (@danielricciardo) July 18, 2024

"The partnership has been really fun for me because it's something that I love and use a lot," Ricciardo said of working with Beats. "Music for me plays such a part in my racing. It can help me wind down. It can help me on the grid by shutting out the noise or pumping me up. I'll use it when I'm training. I've really loved Beats for many years. And I think also what's cool is people see me with the headphones and they're like, 'alright, that's Daniel's time and we're not going to mess with him.'"

There has been more Daniel time of late since Ricciardo has returned to the grid for a full season.

It wasn't long ago the 35-year-old was one of the best and most consistent drivers in F1, especially during his five years with Red Bull from 2014 to 2018. He notched seven race wins, including one at Monaco in 2018, and was a regular contender for podiums during that span.

However, he joined Renault in 2019, moved to McLaren after just two years and struggled to replicate that same success with just a single win in that span.

The 2023 season was an unusual one for Ricciardo, as he returned to Red Bull as a reserve driver and watched teammates Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez dominate the sport. However, it was revealed in July 2023 that he would replace Nyck de Vries on Red Bull's sister team, Scuderia AlphaTauri.

Still, he ended up making just seven starts all year because a crash ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix sidelined him for multiple weeks.

Yet Ricciardo showed enough to be given a driver spot alongside Yuki Tsunoda for RB, which was the new name for the AlphaTauri team for the 2024 season.

"It's been great," he said of his full-time return to the grid. "I definitely love being back. Twelve or 18 months ago, I felt like I needed a little bit of time off for sure. Mentally maybe a little bit lacking of confidence and lost some love for it and a bit burned out. So the time off was perfect for me. But now that I'm back, I love being back more than anything. I'm definitely going all in during this next phase of my career.

"I know there's still going to be highs and lows, but there have been some good highs this year. That's really encouraging for me. I know I can do this, and it's up to me to make sure I do it consistently and turn some heads."

Those highs and lows have come, as he is in 13th place in the standings and well behind the leader in Verstappen. But he also picked up points in the Miami Grand Prix in May, Canadian Grand Prix in June and Austrian Grand Prix in June.

Ricciardo's points have helped RB move into sixth place in the constructors standings as the team attempts to hold off Haas and battle for positioning in the middle of the grid.

Form is temporary, class is permanent ✨@danielricciardo took his and @McLarenF1's last win to date at Monza two years ago with an unforgettable drive#ItalianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/00fUzdqjnV

— Formula 1 (@F1) August 31, 2023

While there has been no shortage of speculation about his future, Ricciardo is focused on finding consistent success for the rest of this year.

"If I look at Miami, Canada and a few races where I feel like I've definitely outperformed the car, if I could do that another handful of times," he said. "Have the types of races where everyone is like, 'yeah, he's still got it.' That's what I would like.

"And the weekends where I'm not doing something crazy, I still want to be fighting for points and find that consistency that maybe I haven't had all the time this year. From a team point of view, sixth is our target in the constructors championship. So making sure I'm doing everything I can to contribute to that."

And then maybe he can find some time to get to Buffalo for a late-season game after helping secure that sixth-place finish.

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen is "one of the more overrated players in the NFL" in the view of one team executive in the league.

"Immense talent but he makes a lot of mistakes," the exec said to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler. "He's underdeveloped at winning at the line of scrimmage, tends to lock on to targets, more of a thrower than precision passer, forces throws into traffic."

The comments came as part of Fowler's annual positional rankings, which derive from soliciting the opinions of various executives, coaches and scouts within the NFL. Allen was the No. 3 quarterback behind the Kansas City Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes and Cincinnati Bengals' Joe Burrow.

The 28-year-old threw for 4,306 yards and 29 touchdowns while running for 524 yards and 15 scores in 2024, and he finished in the top five of the MVP voting for the third time in the last four years.

The Bills also won the AFC East for the fourth straight season and earned their fifth successive trip to the playoffs.

If you were to build a roster from scratch, there aren't many players you'd take above Allen.

The criticism toward the 28-year-old is beginning to get a bit louder, however, due to two main factors. Buffalo has exited in the AFC divisional round each year since its 2020 trip to the AFC title game, and Allen has thrown 47 interceptions in the regular season over that span, which Fowler notes are the most in the NFL.

Last November, the Bills lost 24-22 to the Denver Broncos, a result that dropped them to 5-5 on the season. Allen finished 15-of-26 for 177 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions and lost one fumble.

While not the most consequential game in the grand scheme of things, it was particularly instructive in how people reacted to it. Allen's performance was framed by his skeptics within a wider context.

"At some point, Josh Allen is giving away games. ... He reminds me of Brett Favre. Brett Favre might have been the most talented quarterback of his generation, but he lost a lot of games with recklessness and mistakes."

—@Espngreeny pic.twitter.com/83cvF1DRFV

— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) November 14, 2023

First pick was not on Josh Allen, but the late interception is unacceptable. This is not an accident, not an anomaly. This is Josh Allen. You accept the great with the bad.

— Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) November 14, 2023

I’m old enough to remember when folks said my “criticism” of Josh Allen was because the Chiefs/Mahomes were threatened by his alleged greatness… rather than, yanno, the fact that he’s been a total roller coaster since he walked into the league.

— nick wright (@getnickwright) November 14, 2023

This is almost certainly going to be the push and pull with Allen for the duration of his career. Part of what sets him apart is his pure throwing ability and willingness to attempt passes that aren't in the tool kits of other quarterbacks. But that inevitably means the bad throws are going to look really bad.

Brett Favre is the obvious comparison to draw. The Green Bay Packers legend is fourth all time in touchdowns and first in interceptions. Dan Marino — seventh in TDs and eighth in picks — could be equally as frustrating at times.

With Allen, you're still happy to take the trade-off because the good far outweighs the bad. He ranked third in QBR (69.6) last year, per ESPN.com, after finishing second (73.4) in 2022.

Until the Bills win a Super Bowl with the two-time Pro Bowler at the helm, though, he's bound to have a somewhat substantial volume of voices either calling him overrated or questioning whether he's the guy.

Tight end Jonnu Smith is already diving headfirst into the rivalry between his Miami Dolphins and the Buffalo Bills, as he took several shots at the city of Buffalo on Thursday.

During an appearance on the Dive Bar Podcast (h/t NewYorkUpstate.com's Ryan Talbot), Smith made his feelings on Buffalo known, calling it "the worst place you could be."

"That's why the fans be hating so much because they want to be down here [in Miami]. You ever went to Buffalo? Oh, my gosh, man. I don't know how those dudes do it. I don't know how they did it. I don't know how they did it, man. Going from anywhere in the country, man, and going to Buffalo. It got to be the worst place you could be."

Jonnu Smith- Not a Buffalo fan Confirmed 👀😈#BillsMafia cover your ears 🙉 pic.twitter.com/ug7UidlnNB

— The Dive Bar Podcast 🐬🥃 (@TheDiveBarPod) July 11, 2024

Smith followed that up with perhaps the most spiteful critique of all by downplaying the quality of Buffalo's signature chicken wings: "And the Buffalo wings ain't even good. They ain't even good. I'm at Buffalo. I'm at them. All type of shots at Buffalo."

The 28-year-old Smith signed a two-year, $8.4 million contract with the Dolphins in free agency this offseason after spending 2023 with the Atlanta Falcons, but he is no stranger to the Bills and the AFC East.

Smith played for the New England Patriots from 2021 to 2022. Buffalo won the AFC East in each of those seasons, posting a 4-1 record against the Pats, including playoffs.

After spending his first four NFL seasons with the Tennessee Titans and showing flashes of brilliance, Smith signed a four-year, $50 million deal with the Patriots prior to the 2021 campaign.

The signing proved to be a bust, as Smith had just 55 catches for 539 yards and one touchdown in two seasons in New England before getting traded to Atlanta for a seventh-round draft pick.

Smith did enjoy a career renaissance with the Falcons last season, though, setting career highs with 50 receptions and 582 yards, while also scoring three touchdowns.

Now, Smith joins a Dolphins team that has made the playoffs in back-to-back years, but has also been under ownership of quarterback Josh Allen and the Bills for the past several seasons.

Allen is 10-2 in 12 career regular-season starts against the Dolphins, and he also has a playoff win over Miami to his credit.

Last season, it seemed as though Buffalo's streak of consecutive AFC East titles was going to end at three, as the Dolphins led the division by three games with five contests left to play.

However, the Bills closed the gap and beat the Dolphins 21-14 on the road in Week 18 to secure their fourth straight division title.

Smith clearly has some bad blood with Buffalo, and it could have something to do with his lack of success against the Bills over the years, as he has recorded just nine receptions for 115 yards and two touchdowns in seven career games against Buffalo, including playoffs.

Smith's first chance to back up his trash talk will come in Week 2 when the Dolphins host the Bills on Sept. 12 on Thursday Night Football.

Damar Hamlin's basketball skills have caught the attention of Russell Wilson.

The Buffalo Bills safety hosted a celebrity basketball game as a part of his Charity M event in Pittsburgh this weekend. During the game, Hamlin notably hit a game-winning three-pointer for his team, and the new Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback paid his respects.

@HamlinIsland for 3!!! Game winner
In the Burgh!!! pic.twitter.com/VVG3k3dlQE

— Russell Wilson (@DangeRussWilson) June 9, 2024

Hamlin is a native of the Pittsburgh area and was hosting the event to help increase CPR training as well as help children through sports, activities and programs.

Wilson is one of the newest faces of Pittsburgh sports, but his attendance and support of the event shows his quick commitment to the sports culture of the city.

Hamlin also played his collegiate football at Pittsburgh and now plays for conference-rival Buffalo. He notably suffered cardiac arrest on the field during a game in the 2022 season, which has helped fuel his passion for helping others learn CPR and other life-saving measures.

The Bills and Steelers will not face each other in 2024, so the two would not meet unless it is in the postseason. That matchup did happen in the Wild Card round in 2023, which Buffalo won 31-17, but Wilson was not with Pittsburgh at the time.

Former Olympic wrestler and current Buffalo Bills defensive lineman Gable Stevenson received praise from eight-time Pro Bowl pass-rusher Von Miller.

"When it comes to an athletic standpoint, physical standpoint, he's got it all," Miller said, per Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk. "When he came in yesterday I had to try him a little bit, try to grapple him a little bit, and he was quick, and he grabbed me, and I see it, I feel it. So he's definitely got all the athletic ability in the world."

Stevenson was signed by the Bills on May 31 after he was released from his WWE contract. He previously earned a gold medal in freestyle wrestling at the 2020 Summer Olympics and won two NCAA Division I national championships in college.

It'll be an uphill climb for Stevenson to make Buffalo's regular-season roster, as he's never played on the defensive line in his athletic career. According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the 24-year-old put on a pair of cleats for the first time in his life during a recent workout with the Bills.

At 6'1", he's also on the shorter side compared to his fellow NFL defensive lineman.

Still, it's a promising sign that Miller appears to be taking him under his wing. The former Super Bowl MVP revealed that Stevenson reached out to him shortly after he signed with the team.

"His locker is right next to mine, and right when we signed him he texted me like, 'I'm going to be on your hip, my locker is right next to yours.' I said, 'Alright, it's cool.' But it didn't really hit me until we're in there talking to him and he's just now playing football, learning some of the stuff that we did when we were kids," Miller said, via Smith.

"He has to be on an accelerated learning path, which he's capable of doing," he added.

Even if Stevenson is ultimately unable to make Buffalo's 53-man roster, he could still earn a spot on the practice squad with a strong training camp performance.