Buffalo Bills Negotiating Trade For Tavaris Jackson

BUFFALO, NY (AP)

The Buffalo Bills are negotiating to restructure the final year of Tarvaris Jackson's contract before completing a trade with the Seattle Seahawks to acquire the seventh-year quarterback.

Seahawks coach Pete Carroll confirmed the deal had been agreed to by both teams Sunday, but added the trade wasn't completed.

"It has been agreed upon, but there is still a little bit of paperwork to do," Carroll said during a telephone conference call with reporters. "It might be done tonight. It is scheduled to be done."
A person familiar with discussions told The Associated Press that the Bills were in negotiations with Jackson's agent, Joel Segal, to restructure the player's contract. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because neither team has disclosed why the trade had not yet been completed.
"It's close," the person said.
Jackson is scheduled to make $4 million this season, which the Bills deem to be too expensive for a player to fill a backup job.
Carroll didn't say what the Seahawks will get in return, though it's expected to be a mid- to late-round draft pick from Buffalo.
The Bills have no commented on the trade.
Jackson's future was in question with the Seahawks after the team acquired Matt Flynn in free agency this offseason, and after using a third-round pick to draft Russell Wilson in April.

The timing of the deal came shortly before Carroll announced that Wilson would open the season as the starting quarterback.
"Because of our situation, and the opportunity with the guys that we have, (Jackson) deserves a chance to be playing, so Buffalo came after him and hopefully it's a good thing for him," Carroll said.
Jackson sat out the Seahawks' first two preseason games, before getting his first action taking over for Wilson in the second half of a 44-14 win over Kansas City on Friday. And Jackson served as the backup in part because Flynn missed the game due to a sore elbow.
The Bills' interest in Jackson potentially spells trouble for Vince Young in his bid to win the backup job in Buffalo behind starter Ryan Fitzpatrick.
Young, who signed a one-year contract with Buffalo in May, had the edge to win the No. 2 job until he struggled in a 38-7 loss to Pittsburgh on Saturday. Young threw two interceptions, the first coming on his first pass attempt, and finished 12 of 26 for 103 yards passing in playing the entire second half.
Young had been competing with returning backup Tyler Thigpen for the No. 2 job. And coach Chan Gailey has maintained that there's only room for one backup, because the No. 3 job is going to receiver/wildcat specialist Brad Smith.

It would become the latest blow to Young's once-promising career. After leading Texas to win the national championship in 2006, Young was selected third overall in the draft by the Tennessee Titans and eventually went on to earn NFL offensive rookie of the year honors.
The Titans eventually ran out of patience for Young and released him last summer. Young had a disappointing season as Michael Vick's backup in Philadelphia last season.
He's 17-17 as a starter, with 38 touchdowns and 35 interceptions in 51 career games.
Selected in the second round of the 2006 draft by Minnesota, Jackson had an up-and-down five-year career with the Vikings. His most productive season came in 2007, when he started 12 games.
Jackson lost the starting job to Gus Frerotte the following season, and then spent 2009 and 2010 seasons relegated to backup duty behind Brett Favre.
Jackson signed a two-year contract with the Seahawks last year, and was credited for playing a major role in the team's turnaround after a 2-6 start. He posted career numbers in completions (271), attempts (450), 3,091 yards passing with 14 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.
Jackson also earned plenty of support among his teammates after playing most of the season with a painful pectoral injury.
Jackson has had his faults, with much of the criticism focusing in on his decision-making and holding onto the ball too long.
There were also times he faltered in the fourth quarter — including late-season home losses to Washington and San Francisco — which contributed to costing the Seahawks a shot at playoff berth.

Pittsburgh Steelers Crush Terrible Bills 38-7

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Coach Mike Tomlin doesn't blame quarterback Ben Roethlisberger for showing his frustrations after a penalty that backed the Pittsburgh Steelers to a yard from their goal line.
Tomlin was just as upset with the penalty, and yet not surprised with how Roethlisberger responded.
After taking a step backward, Roethlisberger moved the Steelers forward with a 98-yard, go-ahead touchdown march in the final two minutes of the second quarter of a 38-7 preseason rout of the winless Buffalo Bills on Saturday night.

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"I've been looking at Ben going on six years now, I'm not surprised by it," Tomlin said.
Roethlisberger hit 8-of-9 passes for 95 yards on a drive he capped by threading a 6-yard touchdown pass to Antonio Brown with 13 seconds left. And the spark could be credited to an illegal substitution penalty that put the Steelers on their heels, facing second-and-11 from their 1 yard line.
Shortly after the penalty was called, Roethlisberger showed his displeasure by angrily gesturing at the bench.
"He definitely got fired up and got a little hyped," Brown said. "He's special. The things he's able to do in two-minute situations, there's something special about his leadership and playmaking ability."
Brown had seven catches for 108 yards and two touchdowns, including a 39-yard catch from backup Byron Leftwich in the opening minute of the second half. Roethlisberger shook off a slow start in going 17 of 24 for 169 yards passing in helping the Steelers improve to 2-1.
The Bills dropped to 0-3 this preseason while continuing a trend of familiar struggles on both offense and defense. And that's not what coach Chan Gailey was looking for this week in expressing a desire to see more consistency from his starters.
"We got a little bit rattled," Gailey said, referring to allowing the Steelers to score at the end of the half. "We have to hold our composure better than we did."

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The Ryan Fitzpatrick-led offense managed just 131 yards and seven first downs in playing the entire first half. It was limited to scoring just one touchdown -- Fred Jackson's 1-yard plunge -- despite five of seven possessions inside Steelers territory.
"That goes down to consistency, and it's something we need to get better at," said Fitzpatrick.
And yet the starter remained upbeat, cautioning that this was only the preseason and adding that there isn't need for concern.
"It's going to be OK, it's going to be OK, take a breath," Fitzpatrick said on several occasions while making his way through the locker room.
Fitzpatrick finished 7 of 18 for 89 yards, while backup Vince Young struggled in his bid to clinch the No. 2 job. Young went 12 for 26 for 103 yards passing and two interceptions.
On the bright side, Bills defensive end Mario Williams -- who became the NFL's highest-paid defensive player after signing a six-year $100 million contract in March -- was credited with his first two sacks of the preseason. Defensive tackles Kyle Williams and Marcell Dareus also had a solid game in plugging the middle while also flushing Roethlisberger out of the pocket.
"I think it was a step forward," Kyle Williams said. "After that sudden change, we didn't respond well to it, but in the future hopefully we can put it behind us."
The trouble was a failure to finish, in allowing the Steelers to score despite being backed up deep in their own end.
Steelers running back Isaac Redman also scored on a 2-yard run, Leftwich threw two touchdown passes, including a 10-yarder to Derrick Williams, and running back Chris Rainey scored on a 41-yard touchdown run with 2:44 left.
The Steelers defense also contributed, forcing three turnovers -- a forced fumble and two interceptions -- all of which led directly to touchdowns.
In closing the half with a touchdown, the Steelers gained more yards (99 in total) than the 96 they had in their first six possessions. The key play on the drive occurred with the Steelers facing third-and-9, when Roethlisberger hit running back Jonathan Dwyer with a perfectly placed 33-yard pass up the left sideline.
"I just started calling my own plays," Roethlisberger said. "We went no-huddle and up-tempo, and we were throwing the ball."
Roethlisberger did it with an offense that's missing two key starters, running back Rashard Mendenhall (right knee) and receiver Mike Wallace (contract holdout). And it was a unit that lost rookie first-round draft pick, right guard David DeCastro, who did not return after hurting his right knee on the second possession.
Notes: Tomlin said DeCastro's injury is potentially severe, but will wait until further tests. ... Leftwich went 5 of 8 for 105 yards, including a TD to Williams, which came shortly after Robert Golden intercepted Young. ... The Bills' only scoring drive came on their second possession, and set up by Fitzpatrick's 25-yard pass in hitting David Nelson on a crossing pattern over the middle. ... Steelers PK Daniel Hrapmann rounded out the scoring with a 40-yard field goal.

Preseason: Buffalo Bills vs Pittsburgh Steelers Preview

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — A lack of consistency has raised questions as to how ready the Buffalo Bills are a little more than two weeks before the start of the season.
“We’ve got plenty to work on,” coach Chan Gailey said. “We don’t need to cancel any practices.”

Gailey hasn’t let his players off easy this week, especially with the starters set to get their most playing time of the preseason on Saturday when the Bills (No. 19 in the AP Pro32) host the Pittsburgh Steelers (No. 7). It’s the third preseason game, and one in which the starting units will have one last chance to work out the numerous kinks that have hampered them in two losses.
“We need to get better. We want to see improvement,” said Gailey, who traditionally rests his starters in the fourth preseason game. “I don’t know what that will show. It should show more production, but we have to get better.”
His message applies to both sides of the ball.
The Ryan Fitzpatrick-led offense has lacked both finish and efficiency.
In seven possessions through two games, the Bills’ starting offense has totaled just 113 net yards, five first downs, a touchdown and a field goal. The running game has been anemic, having combined for 24 net yards, and the offensive line has been in flux as a result of injuries.
“This is the last big one for the starters to go out there and get everything fine-tuned before it counts,” Fitzpatrick said. “This one, I would say, is important to us to get out there and play well.”
The production’s been little better on a retooled Mario Williams-led defense that’s shown glimpses of its pass-rushing potential, but has also been susceptible to giving up big plays.
That was particularly apparent in a 36-14 loss at Minnesota last week, in which the Vikings starters racked up 166 yards offense, eight first downs and scored 10 points on three possessions. It could’ve been 13 points had Minnesota kicker Blair Walsh not hooked a 49-yard field goal attempt wide right.
The numbers overshadowed the success of Buffalo’s pass rush, in which tackles Marcell Dareus and Kyle Williams each picked up a sack.
“I think we got some good pressure on them, but I was displeased with allowing the big plays,” Gailey said. “We would get them in a hole, and let them out. And you can’t do that to be a great defense, which I think we can be.”
Defensive coordinator Dave Wannstedt described the big plays as “disturbing.”
The Bills have placed big expectations of their high-priced defense after signing Mario Williams to a six-year, $100 million contract in free agency this offseason, and then landing defensive end Mark Anderson a week later. They are being counted on providing an immediate impact to improve a defense that had difficulty applying pressure and allowed a franchise-worst 5,938 yards last season.
Williams doesn’t see a reason for concern.
“Whenever we come out here in the regular season, we’re going to be smoking,” he said.
And yet he acknowledged a need for the defense to step up its play on Saturday.
“We’re taking this like a regular game,” Williams said. “So we’re definitely going to get amped up for this and get it in the right direction.”
Gailey’s taken a different approach to practice this week in which he’s had each session mimic what a regular-season week of practice would resemble.
He’s installing the semblance of a game-plan against the Steelers, and also having his starting units practice against scout teams. Part of the reason Gailey’s done this is to provide newcomers to the team — both players and coaches — a chance to be familiar with an in-season game week.
Another is to prepare for a Steelers team that remains among the NFL’s elite.
“We need a mental challenge, but it will be a very physical challenge, too, because they’re a physical football team,” Gailey said. “You want to be physical. You want to set the tone.”
NOTES: Veteran CB Terrence McGee is expected to make his preseason debut after sitting out the first two games to rest his surgically repaired left knee. ... Gailey expects the starters to play at least the entire first half. ... DE Anderson (groin) missed his third practice and is not expected to play Saturday. Gailey expects Anderson to return to practice next week.

Buffalo Bills GM Buddy Nix: 'Pats Don't Scare me'

Field Yates - The Buffalo Bills orchestrated one of the most noteworthy offeseasons of 2012, landing prize defensive end Mario Williams on a $100-million free agent contract, and supplementing the big splash with the pickup of former Patriot Mark Anderson in free agency and cornerback Stephon Gilmore in the first round of the draft.

Those moves, plus the continued development of such offensive players as wide receiver Stevie Johnson and running back C.J. Spiller, have expectations soaring in Buffalo.

Along those lines, general manager Buddy Nix exuded confidence in a recent intereview with the Toronto Sun, saying, "We expect a lot out of ourselves. New England, the AFC -- they don't scare me. I think we can compete with any of 'em, and our intention is to try to win the division." (hat tip to Pro Football Talk for pointing out the interview).

"I think anything short of going to the playoffs for me, personally, would be a big disappointment," Nix added.

Nix's confidence should not come as a surprise, as the offseason is a time in which nearly every NFL team possesses optimism heading into the regular season slate. The Bills also look improved on paper, although questions remain with quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and whether left tackle Cordy Glenn can adeptly step into a blindside protection role.

From a Patriots perspective, the team still seems like a safe bet to reign supreme in the AFC East. Despite falling to the Bills early in 2011, the Patriots still bested the rest of their division by five games, and were a full seven games clear of the Bills in the standings.

Though the competition in the AFC East may prove stiffer, a gap appears to remain entering 201

Buffalo Bills look Terrible in The Preseason, Bills Fans Are Worried

Norm Duhamel - So the Bills lost 36-14 to the Vikings, big whoop! If the Bills would have won I would have said the same thing. The preseason is merely a formality and it’s primary functions are to get the players back in football form, make adjustments to your rosters, fine tune plays and get fans excited about the upcoming season.
So what did we learn from this game?

• Fitzpatrick had a good game going 8/11, 58 yds and 1 touchdown
• Vince Young can still throw deep, check out this 64  yard pass and catch to rookie T.J Graham
• Brad Smith should only be used for wildcat formation. This ball should not have been thrown
• Bills defense gave up 160 yards rushing. Tighten up boys!
• The preseason should stay 4 games, because if the season would start next week, the Bills might be in trouble!

With all that said, Buffalo will be just fine. The season starts in 3 weeks and by then Bills will be running on all cylinders and the New York Jets will be in a world of hurt when Mario Williams and the Buffalo defense come to town!

Till then enjoy these highlights and see you next week!