1. NFL.com believes the Bills are "trending upward" with QB situation
Out of all the teams in the AFC East, the Buffalo Bills have the most stable situation at quarterback according to NFL.com. Nick Shook evaluated the quarterback situations of all 32 NFL teams and the Bills placed in the "Trending Upward" category with Josh Allen at the helm. It is the most favorable category of any quarterback in the AFC East.
Buffalo Bills: Josh Allen might actually be the guy in Buffalo after all -- even if he gets the job done in a bit of an unorthodox way. The quarterback led the Bills to a wild-card berth in 2019, completing 58.8 percent of his passes for 3,089 yards with a 20:9 TD-to-INT ratio, and he nearly broke Buffalo's "gets us" meter when he stepped off a plane in frigid temperatures wearing only a short-sleeved hoodie and a ballcap. That makes for a beloved signal-caller in Western New York. But he'll have to cut down on his running (109 attempts, 510 yards, nine touchdowns) if he wants to make a long career out of this. For now, there's optimism in Buffalo. We'll see if the Bills can take the next step with Allen in 2020.
Among the other AFC East teams, the reviews aren't so promising. The Patriots are a "known unknown" with Tom Brady alluding toward not returning and leaving New England with a hole at the position for the first time since he took over.
The Jets "need to be convinced" of Sam Darnold as the signal caller of the future calling his third year when New York decides to move on or not. The Dolphins are "ready for a new face" after a year of Ryan Fitzpatrick and Josh Rosen.
2. Kyle Williams to begin coaching career at the high school level
Former Bills defensive tackle Kyle Williams will join the Ruston High School (Louisiana) Bearcats as the defensive coordinator. It is his first coaching job since retiring from the NFL.
Williams was spotted at Bills training camp this past summer at St. John Fisher College where he worked with the defensive line and engaged in one-on-one work with Ed Oliver, Harrison Phillips, Jordan Phillips and others.
Williams will now return to his hometown and high school to coach. At Ruston, he was named the 5A Louisiana Defensive MVP his senior season where he racked up 78 tackles, 17 tackles for loss, and seven sacks before heading off to LSU to begin his college career.
3. NFL still following regular schedule
The NFL said Thursday that it has "no plans to move the start of the league year," despite nationwide concern regarding the spread of the coronavirus, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.
The NFL's new league year is officially set to begin March 18 at 4 p.m. ET, which is when teams can officially start signing and trading players.
While the league year remains unchanged, the deadline to declare franchise and transition players was moved from March 10 to March 16 at 11:59 a.m. ET to account for the players' vote on the proposed collective bargaining agreement. The players' votes are due by 11:59 p.m. on Saturday.
Prior to the official start of the league year, the legal tampering period begins on Monday, which is when teams can begin speaking with players who are about to hit free agency.
