As the NFL owners' meetings wrap up, there is plenty of Bills news coming out of the annual conference, from both owner Terry Pegula and head coach Sean McDermott. Here is some of the news of note for Wednesday March 29:
* *1. Terry Pegula on Raiders relocation and stadium talk
The most notable news to come out of the owners' meeting was vote to allow the Raiders to relocate from Oakland to Las Vegas. The vote was 31-1 with the Dolphins casting the lone no vote.
Bills owner Terry Pegula answered questions this week about his vote to approve the move.
"I didn't vote against it, so I guess you know where I stood," he said. "It's a difficult issue because I know that the fans in Buffalo went through some hardship, mentally, wondering what was going to happen to their franchise, but these things happen."
Pegula also addressed speculation that NFL owners might be pressing the Bills to upgrade their stadium setup with New Era Field. And the Bills owner tamped down conjecture that the Bills were actively seeking a new stadium solution at this time.
"The state just got through a rather expensive renovation on the stadium," Pegula said. "I don't think it's our place to make demands and ask for things right now. We have a lease on our stadium until 2023 and we're looking forward to the football season and not talking about stadiums."
Pegula said his fellow NFL owners understand Buffalo's situation and there's no pressure from them to make a move on a new stadium at this time.
"That hasn't been discussed in any kind of detail. Everybody knows we're new owners. We're a smaller market in the league so we just need to be happy with what we have right now in our stadium and call it home."
**2. Ragland ready to compete at middle linebacker
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Buffalo's new 4-3 base defense means some reshuffling of roles for returning veterans on that side of the ball. And head coach Sean McDermott says second-year LB Reggie Ragland will get a look at the middle linebacker spot when the offseason work begins.
McDermott hinted that Ragland has the flexibility to play a variety of roles in the Bills new linebacking corps. But the coaches will get their first look at him in the middle.
"We'll start at the middle linebacker position, you know, is where we see him and what comes with that position is the leadership skills," McDermott told reporters at the AFC Coaches Media Breakfast Tuesday morning. "Over the years, when you look at that position in this system, guys like Luke Kuechly, guys like Jeremiah Trotter that can check the defense, get us in and out of bad calls, bad defenses, set us up for success – that's an important part of that position. Reggie, from what I can tell [and] from what I've observed and been told about him, he has that DNA," the coach said.
McDermott is not ready to name starters anywhere on the roster yet. And he says veteran Preston Brown will also be competing for the middle linebacker spot.
**3. Poyer admits an affinity for the Bills
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Three weeks after he signed on with the Bills, veteran safety Jordan Poyer says he's signed on with a team he's always admired.
He spent the first four years of his NFL career in Cleveland. But in an appearance on The John Murphy Showthis week, Poyer said he kept an eye on the Bills and their fans for the last four years.
"I love the fans out there," Poyer said. "I've always been secretly kind of a Buffalo Bills fan. I've always loved the uniforms. I've always loved the fans out there. I've always wondered what it would be like to play in Buffalo in front of those fans. I'm really excited to meet all the guys on the football teams and I'm excited to get to work."
