They didn’t even wait a full 24 hours after the NFL Draft wrapped up to do it. The Buffalo Bills announced Sunday morning that they had fired general manager Doug Whaley after four years of completely inept service.
Bills owner Terry Pegula announced the firing in a tweet.
Statement from Bills Owner Terry Pegula. pic.twitter.com/k6WwmuyM3L
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) April 30, 2017
Whaley’s tenure has been marked by a 30-34 Bills record, letting head coach Doug Marrone escape and hiring Rex Ryan to replace him. Whaley has been a disaster in the personnel department, from drafting E.J. Manuel in the first round in 2013 to trading two first round picks to draft Sammy Watkins in 2014. He’s cost the Bills players and, in losing Marrone, their only winning head coach in a decade, he cost them games.
To celebrate Whaley’s firing, Buffalo also shitcanned his entire scouting department and made it clear to various media outlets that they and Whaley had little to nothing to do with the 2017 draft and new head coach Sean McDermott ran the whole thing.
Bills have fired GM Doug Whaley as expected. Carolina asst GM Brandon Beane top candidate to replace him as reported Saturday
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) April 30, 2017
According to the NFL Network’s Ian Rappaport, early candidates to replace Whaley look like Carolina Panthers’ front office people McDermott knows how to deal with like Brandon Beane and Don Gregory.
Devin Smith tears ACL
The poor guy was preparing for the New York Jets’ offseason activities when disaster struck. Wide receiver Devin Smith tore his ACL and will miss all of the 2017 season according to general manager Mike Maccagnan.
GM Mike Maccagnan: WR Devin Smith tore his ACL this offseason.
He will miss the 2017 season.
— New York Jets (@nyjets) April 29, 2017
Smith has been snakebit since the Jets took him in the second round of the 2015 draft out of Ohio State. Injuries have consistently kept him out of the line up, playing in just 14 games with three starts. Smith has 10 catches for 135 yards and a touchdown in his career.
There’s a reason Smith was taken in the second and the Jets continue to battle with his injuries. He was insanely productive at Ohio State. His senior season he caught 33 passes for 931 yards and 12 touchdowns, averaging 28.2 yards per catch. He backed that up with a 4.42 40-yard dash at the 2015 NFL combine.
Has Randy Gregory failed another drug test?
Dallas Cowboys defensive end Randy Gregory is already slated to miss the entire 2017 season after failing a drug test, but according to TMZ, he has another failed test coming down the pike. That will likely end up with at least another year ban for Gregory and officially an expulsion from the NFL.
Randy Gregory career stats:
Failed drug tests: 7
Sacks: 1— Stephen Patiño (@YaBoyStevieP) April 29, 2017
Is it true? Nobody knows, especially Cowboys owner Jerry Jones who told ESPN he’s not heard about another failed test.
“We have not been informed that he has, and I don’t know what another (failed test) means,” Jones said. “I’m not trying to be (tricky) in any way. I would be very dubious of any information. I find that ambiguous. … If Randy said he did, I’d take this back, but I would be skeptical of the information.”
Jones is sticking with Gregory, even though he’ll sit out all of 2017. There’s good reason for that. Gregory doesn’t count towards the cap and doesn’t draw his usual salary while suspended. Gregory fell to the second round of the 2015 draft specifically because of bullshit like this and should serve as a good example for other players, I’m looking in your general direction Jabril Peppers and Reuben Foster, on exactly what not to do as an NFL player.
In the last two years Randy Gregory has more failed drug tests than the Browns have wins. #takethatfordata
— andrewlacy.bsky.social (@andrewlacy52) April 29, 2017
Since Gregory isn’t playing this year, his contract naturally extends with the Cowboys now holding his rights until 2019. So even if Gregory does clean up his act, get on the field and perform to his ability, he won’t get to cash in as a free agent until 2020.
“At this time right now, I think he’s a great asset for the Dallas Cowboys,” Jones said. “Now we need him on the football field, but in the time that last year we watched him come back and play, candidly, I don’t know we saw that kind of talent in this draft.”
Gregory has appeared in 14 games with the Cowboys, registering 19 tackles and one sack. At Nebraska in his junior season, he had 54 tackles, 9.5 for a loss, seven sacks, a pick, three passes defended and one forced fumble.
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