Terrence

McGee

Troy Vincent can’t get back fast enough. Expect the Patriots to attack the Bills deep next weekend.

Good news for the Patriots receiver corps. McGee has been smoked lately by opposing teams.

In Terrence McGee and Nate Clements, Buffalo has a solid pair of cover cornerbacks. The team will still play to their strengths at times.

Not what the Bills needed with only Drayton Florence and rookies Aaron Williams and Justin Rogers behind starters McGee and Leodis McKelvin. Williams filled in for McGee on Sunday, and should start against the Raiders in Week 2.

With McGee and Ras-I Dowling out this week, each team is missing one starting corner in a potential shootout. Rookie Kelvin Sheppard should see a few snaps with Morrison (hamstring) out. The last time the Bills beat the Pats was 2003, when first-rounder Marcel Dareus was in eighth grade.

McGee was listed as probable on the injury report, so the Bills were a bit deceptive. “We were trying not to play him, if we could,” coach Chan Gailey said. “Let him have one more week of getting completely healthy. He’ll play this week.” The Bills started Drayton Florence and Leodis McKelvin on the corners against Philadelphia. Reggie Corner was the nickel back.

Aaron Williams and rookie Stephon Gilmore are the favorites to start. Terrence McGee is likely to return in a nickel corner capacity. Drayton Florence is due $4 million this season, so it’s fair to wonder if the 31-year-old’s roster spot is in jeopardy. No. 124 pick Ron Brooks is considered a lock to make the team, which means Leodis McKelvin and Justin Rogers currently sit sixth and seventh on the depth chart. Our guess is that McKelvin is the odd man out.

The deal lowered his base salary to $1.35 million and gave him a $300K “signing” bonus. McGee would have been cut without the redo. The 31-year-old tore his patella tendon in November and may not be ready for the start of training camp, let alone Week 1. While McGee held his own when healthy in 2011, the Bills can’t count on him for a big 2012 impact after the brutal injury.

As opposed to a restructuring, McGee lowered each of his final two base salaries and received a $300,000 signing bonus. His 2012 salary is now $1.35 million, and McGee can make $1.75 million in salary in 2013. Per Scout.com’s Aaron Wilson, McGee will earn just over $4 million if he makes the Bills’ roster in both seasons. Now being paid like a nickel back, McGee’s 2012 salary cap number was lowered from $6.3 million this year to $3.78 million.

McGee hopes to be cleared for football activities by the end of OTAs, but the recent history of players returning from torn patellas doesn’t bode well. McGee, now 31, has missed 17 games over the past two years due to hamstring and knee injuries. He’s no longer guaranteed a roster spot with Stephon Gilmore on board.