Buffalo Bills

The Bills have signed all 10 members of their 2026 draft class.

They wrapped it up by getting fourth-round offensive tackle Jude Bowry under contract on Friday.

The Bills previously signed second-round defensive end T.J. Parker, second-round cornerback Davison Igbinosun, fourth-round wide receiver Skyler Bell, fourth-round linebacker Kaleb Elarms-Orr, fifth-round safety Jalon Kilgore, fifth-round defensive tackle Zane Durant, seventh-round cornerback Toriano Pride Jr., seventh-round punter Tommy Doman and seventh-round offensive guard Ar’maj Reed-Adams.

The Bills selected Bowry with the 102nd overall pick.

He played four seasons at Boston College, making 23 starts in 31 career games. He has experience at left and right tackle but played mostly on the left side for BC.

Bowry was a team captain in 2025 and did not allow a sack in 320 total dropback snaps at left tackle.

The Bills made five roster moves on Thursday.

They signed wide receivers Deven Thompkins and Max Tomczak, waived cornerback Dorian Strong with a non-football injury, waived/injured running back Desmond Reid and waived wide receiver Gabriel Benyard.

Thompkins is entering his fifth year in the NFL and was a minicamp invite with the Bills this week. The Utah State product made a memorable play on Wednesday, laying out to secure a deep touchdown pass from quarterback Shane Buechele.

Thompkins previously played for the Falcons (2025), Panthers (2024) and Buccaneers (2022-23). He has 42 catches for 162 yards and a touchdown in his NFL career.

Tomczak rejoins the Bills after signing with the team in May as an undrafted free agent. He spent his four-year collegiate career with Youngstown State. In 49 career games, Tomczak totaled a school-record 225 receptions, 3,024 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns.

Darron Lee, a first-round pick of the Jets in 2016, has formally been indicted on a charge of first-degree murder in connection with the death of his girlfriend, Gabriela Perpetuo.

Via News Channel 9, a Hamilton County, Tennessee grand jury returned the indictment on Wednesday. Previously, prosecutors did not rule out seeking the death penalty.

The case includes evidence that Lee had consulted ChatGPT on how to deal with a person who is unresponsive. Lee also allegedly asked ChatGPT about the injuries that would be consistent with someone falling in the shower.

Prosecutors have dismissed a separate charge of tampering with evidence.

Separately, Perpetuo’s estate has filed a $50 million wrongful death lawsuit against Lee.

Lee played three years with the Jets, one with the Chiefs, and one with the Bills. He last played in 2020.

Most agents tend to characterize new contracts as “extensions,” even though there are no true extensions in the NFL. The old contract goes away, and a new one takes its place.

The player doesn’t have to wait for the new deal to kick in. The new deal starts now, usually with a signing bonus.

By focusing on the new years, agents calculate the “new money.” And the new-money average is always higher than the total value of the deal from signing.

If, for example, a player has one year left on a current deal at $1 million and he gets a three-year, $30 million “extension,” he has a four-year, $31 million deal. The new-money value is $10 million per year. The real value — the value from signing — is $7.75 million per year.

The new-money analysis is used because it makes the numbers bigger, and the contract seemingly better. Those who get the text messages from the agents with the news of the new deal, including the new-money average, pass that information along without mentioning what the new contract actually is worth.

Sometimes, there’s a new contract that exposes the flaw in the new-money analysis. The new Patrick Mahomes deal, for example, adds two years and $239.05 million in new money. Under the new-money analysis, his new-money APY is $119.525 million — nearly twice the prior high-water mark of $60 million per year.

Mahomes isn’t the first player whose new contract leads to new years and new money that generate a ridiculously high new-money APY. Bills quarterback Josh Allen’s contract from 2025 was reported as a six-year, $330 million deal, for an average of $55 million per year. The new-money APY, given what he was due to make on his prior four-year deal, is close to $90 million.

Also, Deshaun Watson’s five-year, $230 million deal with the Browns was signed while he had four years left on his prior deal with the Texans. The new-money average (on the one extra year) was likewise in the range of $90 million.

Then there’s the last deal (for now) that Aaron Donald did with the Rams. The team tore up the existing three years and replaced it with a three-year deal at a higher total payout. In that case, the new-money APY is, technically, infinity.

The extreme examples expose the logical hole in the new-money analysis. The reality is that the old deal is gone and a new deal has taken its place. Almost always, the average payout from the signing of the new deal is much lower than the new-money APY.

Which, again, is why agents use new-money APY. And the teams willingly allow it. If the bigger number makes the player feel better about the contract he has signed than the smaller (and truer) number would, that’s a win for the organization.

Bills safety Cole Bishop became a full-time starter last season, playing all 17 games. His on-field absence in the offseason program therefore was notable.

Bishop revealed Wednesday he had “some stuff cleaned up in the knee” this offseason.

“So just trying to get back from that. Been running a good bit the past week and making progress,” Bishop said, via video from Matt Parrino of syracuse.com.

Bishop said he “should be good for camp, for sure.”

For now, he is watching and learning.

“I’ve taken mental reps before,” Bishop said. “Obviously, you’d like to be out there, but I feel like I’ve got a really good understanding of the defense. So, I’m excited to get out there.”

Travis Clayton had never played a single game of football when the Bills chose him in the seventh round of the 2024 NFL draft, but the giant Englishman had gone through the NFL’s International Player Pathway Program, and the Bills figured that at 6-foot-7 and 350 pounds, and with experience playing rugby, he might develop into an offensive lineman. Two years later the plans have changed, but the Bills are still excited about his prospects.

At Clayton’s request, the Bills have moved him to the defensive line this offseason, and Bills GM Brandon Beane is excited about what that could bring.

“He texted me one day and said, ‘Can I come up and see you?’” Beane said on One Bills Live. “He came in 7 a.m. and we sat in my office and I was thinking, What would he want? That entered my head, he wants to do a position switch. He’s 350 pounds but he’s not obese. He’s lean, cut, he’s an explosive athlete.”

Beane said Clayton felt that he wasn’t making the most of his natural aggressiveness on offense, and thought he might be a better fit for defense.

“He just felt like playing offensive line, especially this time of year you’ve got to be more passive, on your heels,” Beane said. “He wants to see if he can attack and he’s done it for a couple years now and I think he just wants to try. He’s still figuring it out. It’s new for him growing up in the UK, but he’s excited, we’re excited to give him that opportunity. Time will tell what that looks like when we get him in the pads.”

Clayton spent his first year on injured reserve and his second year on the practice squad, and Beane said everyone in Buffalo is hoping he can earn a spot on the regular-season roster.

“The coaches are excited. They see the athleticism, they see the talent,” Beane said. “He’s still learning the technique, but it was fun, some of his teammates were over there giving him pointers. The players, he’s a lovable guy and they’re all pulling for him.”

Bills quarterback Josh Allen led the NFL in an important statistical category last year: Merchandise sales.

The NFL Players Association has released information about sales of officially licensed NFL player merchandise between March of 2025 and February of 2026, and Allen comes in first place for the most merchandise sold.

Jerseys are by far the most popular items with players’ names on them, but the sales also include everything from bobbleheads to wall decals to dog treats.

After Allen, the player with the second-most merchandise sales was Patriots quarterback Drake Maye. Eagles running back Saquon Barkley, Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels rounded out the Top 5.

Packers linebacker Micah Parsons led all defensive players in licensed merchandise sales for the third consecutive year.

More than 90 percent of the players selected in the 2026 NFL draft have signed their rookie contracts. Among the players who remain unsigned, there are two big clusters, at the top of the third round and the top of the fourth round.

The first six players drafted in the third round are still unsigned: Cardinals quarterback Carson Beck, Broncos defensive tackle Tyler Onyedim, Raiders defensive end Keyron Crawford, Eagles tackle Markel Bell, Bears tight end Sam Roush and 49ers edge rusher Romello Height.

The first seven players drafted in the fourth round are also unsigned: Raiders cornerback Jermond McCoy, Bills tackle Jude Bowry, Jets defensive tackle Darrell Jackson Jr., Cardinals defensive tackle Kaleb Proctor, Chargers wide receiver Brenen Thompson, Texans guard Febechi Nwaiwu and 49ers defensive tackle Gracen Halton.

Those 13 players make up the majority of the 2026 draft picks who haven’t signed their rookie contracts yet.

Bills General Manager Brandon Beane said on the team’s YouTube show that high third and fourth-round picks are encouraged by the players’ union to ask for contract provisions that the players in the previous round are getting.

“A lot of years it was the third round took forever,” Beane said. “The union is constantly trying to push down everything from the second round into the third round, and then the third round to make the fourth round better. In this CBA it feels like the fourth round has become more difficult.”

Beane said he understand why Bowry’s agent doesn’t want him to sign until he sees what other fourth-round picks can get, but he thinks it will work itself out before training camp.

“Sometimes agents are a little afraid to do something if the guy in front of them hasn’t done it,” Beane said. “They don’t want to look bad. It’s all recruiting. Jude’s been great. Until it’s done it’s not done, but we’re optimistic.”

A handful of first- and second-round picks also remain unsigned. Every player picked in the fifth, sixth and seventh rounds has signed.

Sean McDermott has said that he’s planning on spending his 2026 speaking with people about leadership in order to grow as a coach.

While many of those visits have been with folks he didn’t know, one on Monday was a little different.

According to multiple reporters on the scene, McDermott was in New Jersey on Monday, attending Giants minicamp.

McDermott walked on the field with New York General Manager Joe Schoen, who previously worked with McDermott with the Bills.

McDermott also previously worked with now-Giants head coach John Harbaugh, as they were both assistants with the Eagles under head coach Andy Reid.

As head coach of the Bills, McDermott accumulated a 98-50 regular-season record and an 8-8 postseason record in his nine seasons.

He is likely to be one of the hottest head coaching candidates in the cycle once the calendar flips to January.

Myles Garrett set the NFL record with 23 sacks last season, but he won’t be satisfied until he has the career sack record as well.

Garrett said after the Browns traded him to the Rams this week that he’s friendly with Hall of Fame defensive end Bruce Smith and would love to break Smith’s NFL record of 200 career sacks.

“There’s a big goal out there, that’s 200,” Garrett said in an interview with the Rams’ YouTube channel. “I want to eclipse that, or I want to make it close. I have a good relationship with the guy who has that record, and being able to go get that one would mean a lot to myself, and to him as well.”

The 30-year-old Garrett has 125.5 sacks so far in his career. Smith had 106 sacks at the same age, so Garrett is well ahead of Smith’s pace. But Smith played until he was 40 years old, something not many players can do. So catching Smith won’t be easy for Garrett.

Garrett made clear that he’d love to be known as the greatest pass rusher of all time, but he’d love even more to win a Super Bowl.

“The GOAT talk and all that, I’m sure that will come and go along the way, but I want to win,” Garrett said. “I want to win early and often.”