1. ESPN thinks the Bills should sign this free agent
Two days separate us and free agency. March 13 is the official start date of the new football calendar year and every team in the league will begin to acquire the exact players they want or need. The Bills have a reported $80 million in cap room which should give them the flexibility and the ability to be calculated in their decisions, according to general manager Brandon Beane. From Pro Football Focus' ESPN Insider column, there is one free agent Buffalo has to get this offseason and it's New England Patriots offensive tackle Trent Brown.
Over the past two seasons, at right tackle for the 49ers in 2017 and at left tackle for the Patriots in 2018, Brown has given up only 51 total pressures on 995 pass-blocking snaps. That pressure rate of 5.1 percent not only puts him among the top 20 tackles in that span, but it's tied with Andrew Whitworth and Bryan Bulaga, who are two of the league's best at the position. With Jordan Mills set to face free agency, Brown has the potential to shore things up on the Bills' offensive line.
Brown is still in the early parts of his career at 26 and has experience at both right and left tackle if more spots open up along the line. Versatility has been a key component as the Bills search for the right players to shore up the front.
2. Lorenzo Alexander on Buffalo building a championship culture
Lorenzo Alexander is a 15-year NFL veteran and has served on the NFLPA as vice president and been a player representative since 2011. With the idea of Antonio Brown potentially coming to the Bills there were questions raised on if the Bills locker room culture could handle a player like Brown.
On One Bills Live Friday, Alexander cited leaders in the locker room such as himself and Micah Hyde but that was only defensively. Since the offense is so young there might not be anyone to reign in his personality. Alexander feels the Bills would have been able to handle it because the team has its eyes set on one goal: a championship.
"I think you want to bring in smart, hard-nosed football players that are team-driven and want to win," Alexander said. "Does that mean you exclude talent? No. But talent isn't everything, I've seen teams have 11 Pro Bowlers and not win a Super Bowl."
Alexander met with incoming NFL players at the Combine last Friday to discuss the job of the NFLPA and took questions, including one about a player on his own productivity. The player mentioned how great it would be if he had a season with 1,500 yards and 15 touchdowns but Alexander explained how individual stats don't make you a winner.
Alexander wants players and teammates to be willing to sacrifice stats for the sake of winning as a team. Everything a player does should be focused on obtaining a championship, stating "should never be a time where your goals and your achievements come before the teams." If that happens, Alexander believes it can create a discord between players and ruin the culture a team has.
3. Why these national personalities call Buffalo one of the best places to play in the NFL
Late last week amidst the Antonio Brown trade saga, many former Buffalo Bills and current media personalities expressed their support for Buffalo as one of the best places to play in the NFL.
These comments generated a ton of discussion about the franchise and city and many came to the defense of the place they call home or work.
Eric Wood spent his entire career in the city of Buffalo starting every single game in that time.
Local University at Buffalo basketball coach Nate Oats even went to the defense of the city he's been in the past couple years on "The Jim Rome Show" saying that the Bills might be better off without Brown and that convincing kids from across the country to play in Buffalo has never been an issue recruiting-wise.
