Kyle Williams signs new contract with Bills

Jason LaCanfora of the NFL Network broke the news yesterday that the Bills and Kyle Williams agreed to terms of a new deal which is 6 years long and worth $39 million dollars. $17 million of that is guaranteed. What is interesting is, Kyle still had 2 years left on his deal which means he's had 3 new contracts in 5 years which is rare in the NFL.

Williams was a 5th round draft pick out of LSU and has consistently been a starter on defense for the Bills while missing only 2 games. Williams made his first pro bowl last season. He's also considered one of the top defensive tackles around the league by many writers including Peter King.

LaConfora also said the Bills will turn their attention to Stevie Johnson next.

MY TAKE: This is the best news the Bills have released in weeks. Maybe months. I'm still debating which is more significant: getting rid of those awful jerseys of the Donahoe era or the extension of Williams? Kidding aside, Williams is a monster. Bills fans should be excited that we will have Williams playing next to Dareus for the next 4 years minimum.

Besides that, this is a hell of a bargain for a player of Williams caliber. He could have waited until his contract ran out and got a much larger contract through free agency but he chose to stay here which is encouraging. There's a sick part of me that is happy that the Bills decided to spend some of their $26 million dollars in available cap space.

I also like that they are working on a new deal with Stevie Johnson which is indicative that Nix/Overdorf want to spend money on their own guys. Johnson has emerged as a star on this team. If he can match last season's numbers, he will emerge as a big star in this league. Johnson's value stretches beyond his play on the field - he will surely become the top jersey seller on the Bills because of his personality on and off the field.

August 1st Camp Notes

I attended my first Buffalo Bills training camp of the year at St. John Fisher College in Pittsford, NY. It ran from 3 to 5:30pm.


It was pretty damn hot out there. Kind of a light crowd out there today which is what I prefer. I made a mistake when I first arrived assuming they would be practicing on the longer field (which they've done in years past) but I was wrong. They did the majority of the practice on the split fields. I assume it has to do with the turf. Anyways, lets get to fine points of the day...

• Levi Brown had a pretty brutal day -- misfiring and throwing near picks like you wouldn't believe.
• Josh Nesbitt, who was playing the role of QB today (until Brad Smith and Thigpen can participate, which is August 4th) was just as bad. No wonder this guy is listed as a DB. 
• Kyle Williams (who was one of the first guys on the field) was a big time disruption, consistently getting in the backfield. Dareus eating up double teams will make Kyle Williams into an even bigger star this year. 
• Dwan Edwards, a guy who I almost forgot about, had a few nice plays including batting down a Fitzpatrick pass (something he's vulnerable to) that led to a Shawne Merriman pick. Well, at least I think it was an interception. Edwards was having a strong year prior to his injury last year. Here's to hoping he can bounce back from his injury.
• Maybin looked tiny next to Merriman. This shouldn't matter so much to me but it does. He did show some speed on a run play, tracking down the RB (can't remember who it was)
• Johnny White, running back from North Carolina, physically resembles Marion Barber. He runs like him too. This guy could contribute this season if he can get some carries which will be a tough task with the Bills seemingly ready to put CJ Spiller in a feature role, next to Fred Jackson.
• Geoff Hangartner looked small next to his fellow linemates. 
• Andy Levitre, on the other hand, looked bigger than ever. Oh and I noticed the new haircut and mustache. 
• Donald Jones, a surprise contributor from last season, made some nice plays today in his limited time on the field. This guy has some serious speed.
• Reggie Corner came off the PUP list and made a nice play today. He's had a forgettable tenure with the Bills thus far. May have a tough time making the team this year with the new additions.
• Shawne Merriman made some nice plays again today. That would make it a few days in a row of looking good for him. We just need him to stay healthy. If I see him starting on September 11th against the Chiefs, I'll be excited. This guy seems to have all the tools to be a player but can he keep that Achilles healthy? 
• Fitzy made some nice, tight short throws today. The long ball was a bit off again today although he did throw a beautiful 50 yard bomb to Stevie Johnson who was double covered but had a chance to make the catch. Perfect placement of the ball on Fitzy's behalf. 
• Did I mention how awful Levi was? Sorry, nothing personal Levi, it's just that I expected better. I can't wait to see what Tyler Thigpen can do. Please be better than what I saw out of our backups today. 
• I'm still trying to adjust to McKelvin and CJ Spiller's number switch.
• I'm also still trying to adjust to Arthur Moats playing ILB. 
• Good to see McGee out there with the starting unit. #24 has been injured much too much the past few years. It's time to see if this guy can play anymore. Wouldn't it be nice if he could regain his form and we suddenly have really good depth in the secondary? Going into training camp I thought he could be a surprise cut but I'm not so sure about that anymore. Cornerbacks are valuable in this league and he was pretty good at one point. 
• The guy who I had no clue who he was until a fellow Bills fan told me, Emmanuel Moody seemingly made a bunch of good runs today. Not sure of his chances because he's undrafted but he did catch my attention a few times.
• Roscoe made a nice grab which reminded me of last year when he bailed the Bills out of some bad 3rd down situations.
• Mount Jasper is as big as advertised. He made other large men look small. I did notice he bullrushed some guys but I didn't catch who they were. I heard a lot of Jasper jokes around me. Not sure if it's the number (#69) or just the hope that this guy can even make the team. I personally think he will make the team. 
• Da'Norris Searcy got some reps with the 2nd team defense for the first time today.
• Merriman tagged David Nelson at one point. Nelson acknowledged it on his twitter account to which Merriman responded, "friendly fire bro you know its all luv"
• Sheppard and Easley were on the sidelines today. I'm sick of hearing the hype around Easley. Don't get me wrong, I probably started that hype. I want to see this kid play. Hopefully the injury bug escapes him. As for Sheppard, he's going to have to take this time to learn as much of the playbook as possible. Early timetable for both guys is a week but that's on the optimistic side. I have high hopes for Sheppard who endlessly retweets his fans comments about how great he is going to be.
• Not that this matters much but I caught Brad Smith and Tyler Thigpen busting each others chops and giving each other punches that looked about as real as the Rock's. Good to see the new guys trying to fit in right away.
• There was an Ed Wang sighting. He actually looked decent at times. 
• And finally, Dareus could be a big, big contributor to our defense this year. He was having an issue with his helmet that looked to piss him off at a few points but he looked good out there. 

I plan on attending camp next week as well. Come back for more reports and general thoughts about the Bills.