Kelsay on Trading Block as Well

The Buffalo Bills are reportedly shopping defensive end Chris Kelsay, according to Allen Wilson of The Buffalo News.

Kelsay, a six-year veteran out of the University of Nebraska, had 47 tackles and 2 sacks for the Bills last season, according to NFL.com.

More on this story as it develops.

Bills Trade Peters to Eagles

The Buffalo Bills have traded Pro Bowl offensive tackle Jason Peters to the Philadelphia Eagles, according to Jay Glazer of FOXSports.com.

In exchange for Peters, the Bills receive the Eagles’ 28th overall pick of the first round as well as a second-day draft pick in this year’s draft and a late-round draft pick in 2010.

Peters, is entering year two of his contract beef with the Bills, and hasn’t been attending the Bills’ offseason activities after staging a holdout last summer at training camp.

Peters will likely be seeking a new deal from his new employers.

The Eagles needed an offensive tackle after starter Tra Thomas left in free agency. Jon Runyan is a free agent and has been battling injuries.

Ex-Colts Running Back is Hitting the Rhodes, Visiting Bills

Dominic Rhodes, a free agent running back who played last season for the Indianapolis Colts, spent Monday and Tuesday visiting with officials from the Buffalo Bills.

"It went well,'' Todd France, Rhodes' agent, said

Rhodes rushed for 538 yards and a team-high six touchdowns in 2008 while splitting time with starter Joseph Addai. He also ranked fifth on the team with 45 receptions for 302 yards and three TDs.

Except for the 2007 which he spent with the Oakland Raiders, the nine-year pro has played his entire career in Indy, whom he joined as an undrafted free agent following the 2001 draft.

The Colts have not ruled out the possibility of re-signing Rhodes, because he is so productive in the tandem with Addai.

Bills Dropping Ticket Prices for Toronto Series

Ticket prices to see the Buffalo Bills in Toronto have been dropped by an average of 17 per cent for this coming season, including more than 11,000 seats that will be available at less than $100.

Two things that have occurred over the past several months influenced the change: the economic downturn and negative feedback received on pricing from fans who attended the first two games of Bills Toronto Series last season.

“During the off-season we asked our customers for feedback on the Bills Toronto Series. This price adjustment, developed in conjunction with the NFL and the Bills, is a result of that feedback,” said Phil Lind, vice-chairman of Rogers Communications Inc. “Sports leagues and teams around the world are taking similar steps to make their products more accessible. We are conscious of these challenging economic times and are more committed than ever to providing Toronto sports fans with an outstanding NFL experience.”

The Bills played one preseason and one regular-season game in Toronto during 2008. The pre-season game was so under attended because of the high prices that people were giving away tickets on the street just to save face. The regular season game against Miami in December was announced as a sellout but was not a packed house either.

The Buffalo Bills continue to have the lowest priced tickets in the NFL, with an average of $51 and have already stated that prices will freeze for the 2009 season. Rogers Communications Inc. hold the rights to the Toronto games until 2012 and will likely have to keep prices at par with the Buffalo prices if they want the games to be a success.

Bills Whitner Arrested

It appears as the the Buffalo Bills are attempting to be the Cincinnati Bengals of New York as another one of their players was arrested.

Police have confirmed that Whitner was arrested for aggravated disorderly conduct and resisting police outside the House of Blues at 3 a.m. He hasn't been officially charged with either crime, according to WIVB-TV in Buffalo.

Whitner, who went to Ohio State, has started 42 games in three seasons since the Bills selected him with the eighth overall pick of the 2006 draft. He had 61 tackles and one sack in 13 games during the 2008 season.

The Bills will already be without starting running back Marshawn Lynch for the first three games of the season and will now await word on whether Whitner will face suspension as well.

Bills Shopping Roscoe Parrish

The Buffalo Bills suddenly find themselves with a plethora of talent at the wide receiver position, and have decided to shop one of their young up and coming receivers. Roscoe Parrish, a Bills second round pick in 2005, is primarily a slot receiver and return man.

The Bills have not set an asking price for Parrish and are just testing the market right now, but it appears as though Parrish is on the block.

At 5'9" 171lbs Parrish is small in stature, but the former Miami Hurricane is elusive in the open field. He finds himself on the depth chart with no. 1 receiver Lee Evans and the recently aquired Terrell Owens, veteran slot receiver Josh Reed and second year man James Hardy.

Bills Sign Free Agent McKinney

The Buffalo Bills filled a glaring need for depth on the offensive line by signing seven-year veteran Seth McKinney, a free-agent from the Cleveland Browns. Terms of the contract were no revealed but it is believed to be a one-year deal.

McKinney, a 6-foot-3, 310-pounder, was an important and versitile member of the Browns' line last year, filling the No. 1 backup job at both guard spots and the center position. He started three games at guard last year and the first eight games of the 2007 season at guard. His sat out the second half of the '07 season with a shoulder injury.

McKinney is a product of Texas A&M, where he was a four-year starting center. He was a third-round pick of Miami in 2002. He started at center for the Dolphins in 16 games in 2004 and 13 games in 2005. He was born in Buffalo, Texas. He has a brother, Steve, who is an 11-year veteran offensive lineman for Seattle.

Bills Lynch Suspended 3 Games

Commissioner Roger Goodell has decided to suspend Buffalo Bills running back Marshawn Lynch for the first three games of the 2009 season for violating the league's personal conduct policy, according to sources. An official announcement is likely coming on Thursday

Lynch is expected to appeal the suspension, which will lose, the Bills back approximately $112,000 of his $635,000 base salary for 2009 during the suspension.

The Bills running back was arrested on a misdemeanor gun charge. In searching a parked car carrying Lynch, Culver City police found a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun inside a backpack in the trunk.

After pleading guilty to having a concealed firearm in a vehicle, Lynch was sentenced last month to 80 hours of community service and three years' probation.

This is the second violation for Lynch in as many years, when he pleaded guilty to a traffic violation and admitted driving off after striking a female pedestrian with his car. He avoided suspension the first time after meeting with Commisioner Goodell at training camp last summer. No such luck this time.

T.O. Working-Out in Buffalo

Get your popcorn out folks! Bills wide receiver Terrell Owens has reported for work-outs, and will participate in the Bills' offseason conditioning program according to Chris Brown of the Bills’ official Web site.

I guess T.O. decided that he might want to at least pretend that he cares about his teammates, or anyone other than himself, since he is likely on his last chance in the NFL and the Bills have him signed to a one-year deal.

If he plans to sign with another team next season he needs to be on his best behavious, for as long as he can (he'll likely leave the Bills' conditioning program tomorrow) and avoid the suicide scares or driveway press conferences until a team signs him to a long term deal.

According to a recent USA Today article, Owens said he had informed Bills coach Dick Jauron that he wasn’t going to attend anything that he’s not required to contractually.

“Right now, if there’s nothing mandatory that I have to be a part of, then I won’t intend to be there,” Owens said.

Bills DT Stroud Signs Extension

The Buffalo Bills have signed defensive tackle Marcus Stroud to a two-year, $16.5 million extension. Raising the overall value of the final four years remaining on Stroud's contract to $28 million.

Stroud's agent Drew Rosenhaus the man responsible for this and many other extensions around the league these days has been quoted as saying his client's extension includes $12 million in guaranteed money, locking up Stroud through the 2012 season. Stroud was a Pro Bowl alternate last season.

The former Georgia Bulldog started all 16 games last season after being acquired in a trade with Jacksonville. In his first season with the Bills Stroud contributed with 45 tackles and 2.5 sacks bringing his career totals to 319 tackles and 24.5 QB takedowns The 30-year-old, who spent his first seven seasons with the Jaguars, was one of the key reasons Buffalo improved its defensive ranking to No. 14 during the 2008 campaign.

Bills LB Signs Tender Offer

Buffalo Bills LB Keith Ellison has signed his restricted free agent tender offer. Ellison was tendered at his original draft round (sixth) level at $1.01 million.

He is scheduled to be the starter at strong side linebacker for the Bills next season.

The 25-year old LB is entering his 4th season. He has played in 42 games and collected 177 tackles 2 sacks and 2 interceptions.

Saints Continue Defensive Make-Over: Add Prioleau

The New Orleans Saints have added some depth to their secondary with the signing of Pierson Prioleau, terms of the contract were not revealed.

Prioleau, 5-11, 188 pounds, is a veteran of ten NFL seasons who has played with the San Francisco 49ers (1999-2000), Buffalo Bills (2001-2004), Washington Redskins (2005-2008) and the Jacksonville Jaguars (2008).

The move reunites Prioleau with defensive coordinator Gregg Williams; they have worked together in Jacksonville, Washington, and Buffalo.

He has played in 129 career regular season games during his career, making 48 starts, and has accumulated 371 career tackles, along with five-and-a-half sacks, and 130 career special teams tackles.

He'll likely serve as a back-up for the Saints, behind recently signed Darren Sharper and holdover Roman Harper.

Bucs Rebuilding Linebacking Core

Last month the Buccaneers in a shocking move released 14-year veteran WLB Derrick Brooks and his SLB mate Cato June in a youth movement intended many local fans refer to as "Black Wednesday".

The Buccaneers have started the rebuilding process of their linebacking core with a pair of moves today. The first was to sign Buffalo Bills free agent LB Angelo Crowell to replace June as the SLB, the second was to inform recently re-signed SS Jermaine Phillips that the team would like him to replace Brooks as the WLB in new defensive co-ordinator Jim Bates' defense.

Terms of their contracts were not disclosed.

"I'd never played linebacker before, and I told them I'll never know how effective I'm going to be at the position or how fun it will be for me unless I try it" Phillips told buccaneers.com.

Phillips is now faced with the nearly impossible task of replacing a 11-time Pro Bowler in Brooks, luckily Phillips has experience replacing a local legend on the football field. Earlier in his career he was charged with the task of replacing John Lynch after his release.

"When they asked me, I was like first Lynch, now Brooks. Who's going to be next?" Phillips said "But I look at it like this: nobody can ever replaced a John Lynch, nobody can ever replace a Derrick Brooks. What they've done for the game of football is unmatched. All I can do is go out there and play the(Will) linebacker position the best way I can. Hopefully, everybody will learn to love me the way they loved them.''

Crowell, 27, was a third round pick of the Buffalo Bills in 2003. He is coming off a season-ending knee surgery that sidelined him in 2008. He will compete for a starting job at strong-side linebacker, where third-year player Quincy Black currently sits atop the depth chart.

In 2007 he recorded a career year, leading Buffalo with 140 tackles and two sacks. He was only linebacker in the NFL that season to record a safety, sack, interception, forced fumble and fumble recovery. At 6-1 and 246 pounds, adds some bulk to the Bucs' linebacking corps, he will also add experience of which the Bucs are currently lacking after the aforemention "Black Wednesday" with 41 career starts.

Terrell Owens Agrees to Terms with Buffalo

It only took two-days, but Terrell Owens has found a new team, the Buffalo Bills have decided to take the risk and signed Owens to a one-year $6,5 Million deal. The extremely talented receiver was recently cut by the Dallas Cowboys, because his distractions out-weighed his on field productivity.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones brought Terrell Owens to Dallas fully aware of the headaches he would cause but expected Owens' impact to put his team into the Super Bowl, or even win a playoff game, something they have not done since 1996.

"I must move on, and it's another beginning for me," Owens said. "If I can be that extra added piece to get them to the playoffs, then that's what I'm here for. I looked at the defensive side of ball and offensive side of the ball, and these guys have all the pieces."

The Bills playoff drought has lasted since 1993 and Bills owner Ralph Wilson is probably hoping that Owens is the final piece to put his team over the top, just as Jones did, but at 35 years old and with a young mildly experienced QB in Trent Edwards it seems like a recipe for disaster in Western New York. Buffalo needs to prepare itself for a T.O.rnado.

Coach Dick Jauron is willing to take the risk on Owens because his team needs a spark following its third consecutive 7-9 season.

"Our focus is on winning football games, and the production, and everything that goes with that and that speaks for itself," said Bills GM Russ Brandon. "So just the thought of what our receiving corps looks like right now and what our offense can be with (QB) Trent Edwards, is really exciting for all of us."

It's believed most — if not all — of the other teams in the market for a veteran wide receiver shied away from Owens because of his reputation as a selfish player and derisive locker room presence. Owens previously squabbled with veteran quarterbacks like Jeff Garcia and Donovan McNabb, so it's questionable how well he would handle any growing pains being experienced in 2009 by Edwards, the neophyte starter.

O'Sullivan to Backup Palmer

The Cincinnati Bengals have added QB J.T. O'Sullivan to be the backup for Carson Palmer. His signing became necessary when Ryan Fitzpatrick, who replaced Palmer most of last season after he suffered an elbow injury, left for Buffalo. Terms of the contract were not disclosed.

O'Sullivan, 29, started the first eight games for San Francisco last season. He also spent time playing in NFL Europe and with the New Orleans Saints, where he was picked in the sixth round of the 2002 draft.

Browns Get Royal

The Cleveland Browns have added a player to its roster in an attempt to fill the void left by recently traded Pro-Bowl TE Kellen Winslow, by signing former Buffalo Bills TE Robert Royal. Terms of the contract were not disclosed.

Royal caught 33 passes for 351 yards and one touchdown last season for the Buffalo Bills. He was drafted in 2002 by the Washington Redskins and is known primarily for his blocking. Royal will join Steve Heiden, and last season's 4th round draft choice (111th overall) Martin Rucker.

Saints Sign Greer for Four

The New Orleans Saints got a two-fer today with the signing of CB Jabari Greer, 1, the added a young impressive corner and 2, they signed a player away from a division rival as Tampa Bay had recently brought Greer in for a visit and were in the running to sign him.

The 27-year-old Greer, 5-foot-11 and 180 pounds, spent the past five years with the Buffalo Bills, starting 23 games over the past two seasons. He has signed a four-year deal to become a Saint. Financial terms were not revealed.

Greer has four career interceptions, including two last season that he returned for touchdowns. He missed the final six games last season because of a knee injury.

Bills Sign CB Florence

The Buffalo Bills have added CB Drayton Florence to serve as the teams nickle back. Terms of the contract were not disclosed.

Florence will join starters Terrence McGee and last years first round pick Leodis McKelvin in a group that now has five cornerbacks. Florences signing likely means that free agent Jabari Greer will no longer be pursued by the team.

Fresh off a one-and-done season in Jacksonville where he signed a lucrative six-year, $36 Million deal with about $12 Million guaranteed, Florence is trying to move past his dissapointing performance with the Jaguars and regain the form he had while a 3-years starter in San Diego when he had 182 tackles and 6 interceptions.

Leonard Heads to Jets

New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan is continuing to build his new defense with players from his old team. Joining Bart Scott in "Baltimore North" is safety Jim Leonard who signed a three-year contract.

Leonhard explosed onto the scene last year after signing a free-agent deal with the Ravens, when he was asked to step in and replace injured Dawan Landry. The ex-Bills safety registered a career-high 69 tackles and six passes defended for Baltimore's No. 2-ranked defense in 2008.

"He's a smart player that can get guys lined up in the secondary and was one of the best tacklers on that Ravens defense," Ryan said. "He's always around the ball, brings everything he has on every play and will be a great addition to our group of defensive backs."

Hangartner is going to Hang Out in Western New York

The Buffalo Bills have filled a huge hole in the offensive line by signing G/C Geoff Hangartner, who jokingly said he was "6-8, 420 pounds", although a more modest 6-foot-5 and 315 pounds, Hangartner will fill the hole left at center for the Bills who recently released Duke Preston and his back-up Melvin Fowler.

After four-seasons in Carolina, Hangartner signs on in Buffalo to a multi-year contract. Terms of the contract were not disclosed.

Hangartner, a fith round choice in 2005, brings experience to a re-building Buffalo offensive line with his 27 starts in 54 games played