Welcome to this week’s Bills Mailbag. Let’s get right to your questions …
John G. asks: It’s hard to believe the Patriots have signed Stefon Diggs when they have a developing quarterback who needs a supporting cast, not a diva who will demand the ball or pout. Why would they overlook past actions that indicate a player who clearly places his interests above those of the team?
LS asks: What is your take on the Patriots signing Stefon Diggs? Should the Bills be worried he’s playing in our division?
Josh asks: What grade would you give the Patriots on the signing of Stefon Diggs? When do you expect he will be ready to play coming off his ACL injury last year?
100724-buf-spts-bills-texans (copy)
Former Bills receiver Stefon Diggs is on the move again, signing this offseason with the New England Patriots after one year with the Houston Texans. Harry Scull Jr., Buffalo News
Jay: The Patriots being aggressive in free agency was not a surprise. They entered the offseason with more than $100 million in space under the salary cap – tops in the NFL. They had no choice but to spend money. They also desperately need to add talent around Drake Maye, who had a promising rookie season at quarterback. That’s where Diggs comes in. I’m not quite where you are, John, when it comes to Diggs as a teammate. Remember, he’s had a honeymoon phase with both the Bills and Texans. It would be dishonest to say that Diggs did not greatly aid Josh Allen when the Bills’ quarterback was younger and still developing. There is no doubt Diggs deserves some blame for his eventual divorce in Buffalo, but it would be wrong to suggest that his presence here didn’t have a good number of positives. To your point about him putting his interests above the team, that's fair to question. In going to New England, he easily becomes the No. 1 option for Maye, so perhaps a steady diet of targets will keep him happy and there will be no drama. Of course, if the Patriots aren’t winning and Diggs isn’t getting the ball to his liking, perhaps that spells trouble. It has happened before.
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Diggs was producing for the Texans last year before getting hurt. He’s 31 and 10 years into his NFL career, and he is being asked to come back from a torn ACL midway through the 2024 season. As we saw in Buffalo with Von Miller, that can be a big challenge for a player in his 30s. I don’t expect Diggs to put up the kind of dominant seasons we saw from him in Buffalo, but he has a game that should age nicely. The reporting has been that Diggs is aiming to be on the field in Week 1, but so was Miller when he came back from an ACL tear. We’ll know more about the timeline for Diggs’ return in the preseason, but he is fanatical about working out, so I’d expect him to be back by Week 5 of the regular season at the latest if the Patriots decide to start the season with him on the sideline.
Given that the Patriots had money to spend and a big hole at receiver, I’d give the addition of Diggs a B+.
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Sam Ruggiero asks: After reading your informative roundtable discussion with the other News sports reporters, it’s obvious that the two biggest needs in the draft are cornerback and defensive line. I’m thinking Michigan defensive tackle Kenneth Grant is a realistic first-round option. As far as cornerback, can we get guys like Texas’ Jahdae Barron or Ole Miss’ Trey Amos in the second round? It appears free agency at those positions is a stretch, at best.
Jay: The draft is difficult to predict as it is, but it’s nearly impossible when a team is picking as late as the Bills, at No. 30 in the first round. Grant, for example, seemingly checks every box the Bills could have for a defensive tackle, but while the fit is great, there is a very real question about availability. Will he still be on the board at No. 30? That’s difficult to predict. It’s even harder to predict who will be there in the second round. If we’re going off prospect rankings, it appears unlikely that either Barron or Amos would last until the Bills’ first pick of the second round, which is No. 56 overall. CBS Sports has Barron as the No. 35 prospect in the class and Amos at No. 36. Pro Football Focus has Barron as its No. 7 prospect in the entire class, while Amos is No. 40. That shows the wide variety of opinions that can exist on these prospects. I’d consider it unlikely that either Barron or Amos lasted until No. 56, but not impossible. Free agency could still be the route the Bills take to address cornerback. Last year’s starter, Rasul Douglas, remains unsigned, as does Chargers cornerback Asante Samuel Jr.
Gerald asks: I really don’t want to beat a dead horse, but is the difference between James Cook and Ray Davis so much that it doesn’t make sense to at least consider a trade of Cook, for a second-round pick, maybe. The draft is loaded with quality running backs, and trading Cook would be beneficial to next year’s cap space. What do you think?
Jay: I’m not in favor of any trade that involves sending James Cook to another team for the 2025 season. Cook has been really good for the Bills the past two seasons. Yes, he wants a new contract, but I don’t believe that’s going to serve as a distraction, either to him or to the team. Cook’s teammates will want him to get paid, too. If the Bills thought Davis was as good as Cook, they would have handed out playing time accordingly. I also don’t think that Cook would bring a second-round draft pick in return, because any team trading for him would know he wants a new contract. If the idea is that running backs can be easily found, why wouldn’t a team simply draft their own and then have him on a rookie contract as opposed to trading away a valuable asset and paying a top-of-market price to Cook? My stance on what the Bills should do with Cook remains unchanged: Let him play out the 2025 season and then reassess the situation. The team can always use the franchise tag next year on Cook if it determines he’s too important to the offense to lose. Heading into a year with legitimate Super Bowl aspirations, I want as many sure things on offense as I can have, and Cook is one of them.
Drew Shapiro asks: Why hasn’t cornerback Asante Samuel Jr. been signed yet? Is it due to money, health, talent or a possible suspension? Maybe if the Bills had not signed two players facing performance-enhancing drugs suspensions and then signed Dane Jackson and Damar Hamlin as depth pieces for their secondary, they would have had enough money to fill a big hole by signing Samuel. To plug another hole, then draft a defensive tackle in the first round, even if it means moving up for the player you want. The Bills can get depth pieces for the secondary on the second and third days of the draft.
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Jay: Samuel has been rumored to be a Bills target since free agency started, but I’ve always been a bit skeptical for one reason: He’s not a good tackler. Bills coach Sean McDermott has consistently said that tackling is one of the key traits he looks for in a cornerback. That’s not to say it’s impossible that Samuel signs, but if he did, it would represent a fairly large change in approach. So I’d say the reason Samuel hasn’t signed with the Bills traces back to scheme fit, not money, health, talent or possible suspension.
The money paid to Hamlin (one year, $2 million) and Jackson (one year, $1.337 million) is pennies in the NFL world, so I don’t think those two additions have greatly impacted what the Bills could possibly spend on Samuel or another cornerback. As for moving up in the draft, let me offer an alternative idea: How about just staying put and picking at No. 30? General manager Brandon Beane has moved both up and down the draft board over the last three years, and none of those moves have worked out all that well to this point. Kaiir Elam was a total bust before being traded, and Beane moved up for him. Dalton Kincaid is coming off a disappointing second season. He’s another player Beane moved up for. Beane moved down twice last season before taking Keon Coleman with the first pick of the second round, and the jury is still very much out on that selection, too. The one thing the Bills’ GM hasn’t done recently is just stay put and pick. Maybe this is the year to give that approach a try.
Larry Sherlick asks: Now that the Bills have gone forward and signed two suspended players, Michael Hoecht and Larry Ogunjobi, are these players suspended only for the first six games, or will they be suspended from participating in OTAs, minicamp, training camp and the preseason, as well?
Jay: No, both Hoecht and Ogunjobi can be with the team throughout the spring, summer and preseason. Their suspensions start ahead of Week 1 and they have to be out of the building until after Week 4. They can then rejoin the team, although they can’t play until after Week 6. It’s obviously less than ideal, but at least both players can learn the defensive scheme in the spring and summer before serving their suspensions.
BA asks: Since the Bills will be featured in a holiday Hallmark movie later this year, will you be taking time to audition? Do you think this type of attention, especially with the star power Josh Allen brings on a national level, negates some of the “small market” talk about the team and city?
Jay: I haven’t gotten the script yet from my agent, but I’m available for the role of sportswriter. The Bills are going to always be considered a small market because, well, they are when compared to other NFL cities. Although if you count southern Ontario, it’s not as small as it’s made out to be. Allen’s presence doesn’t negate that, but it does give the organization pizzazz. It also makes it easier to recruit free agents who are looking for a chance to win. They know that with Allen at quarterback, they’ll get that in Buffalo.
Mike Dugan asks: Will the high school football playoffs still be played in the new stadium, or will they be forced to play somewhere else?
Jay: A Bills spokesman tells me those discussions have not yet taken place, but the team would like to continue the tradition.
Thank you for all the questions this week! As a reminder, they can be submitted via X to @JaySkurski or by email to jskurski@buffnews.com.
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