Snarky Sean (McDermott) was on display last week when I asked him why he scheduled the Buffalo Bills for only six of the permitted 10 organized team activities (OTAs) this spring.
鈥淵our vacation,鈥 McDermott said while patting on my shoulder.
Bills coach Sean McDermott has scheduled only six of the allowed 10 organized team activity workouts this offseason.
I told him the head coach gets an A+ for offseason scheduling and the guess is everybody in the Bills鈥 facility approves of McDermott鈥檚 strategy.
The 2020 collective bargaining agreement allows for 10 OTAs over three weeks, followed by a three-day mandatory minicamp in the fourth week.
The Bills are holding OTAs May 27-29, June 2-3 and 5, and mandatory minicamp June 10-12.
The rationale?
鈥淲e鈥檝e been in the playoffs seven of the last eight years, going deep into the playoffs, so the offseason gets a little bit shorter and the window of time (this year) being moved back, it would be different than in years past,鈥 McDermott said.
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McDermott isn鈥檛 alone in calling it a wrap on June 12 instead of stretching the offseason program ahead a week.
The Bills are one of 15 teams who have scheduled six OTAs; Washington has a league-low five. One team (Tampa Bay) scheduled eight, eight teams scheduled nine and seven teams scheduled 10.
Baltimore, Kansas City, the Los Angeles Rams, the New York Giants and Seattle are having minicamp the week of June 16. Three teams 鈥 Chicago, Cleveland and Minnesota 鈥 are having a set of OTAs after their minicamps.
鈥淚nstead of the players have their (usual) window of time to get back home, reset, get back with their trainers who are not here and then come back for camp, that would have been compromised and I didn鈥檛 want to do that,鈥 McDermott said.
To McDermott鈥檚 point, the Bills have played their final postseason games on Jan. 7, Jan. 4, Jan. 24, Jan. 23, Jan. 22, Jan. 21 and Jan. 26.
Compare that to the New York Jets, who have wrapped their last seven seasons on Dec. 30, Dec. 29, Jan. 3, Jan. 9, Jan. 8, Jan. 7 and Jan. 5.
鈥淎llowing the players and coaches and staff to get to where they need to be and see their families for a healthy amount of time and then we鈥檒l come back for training camp,鈥 McDermott said.
Bills quarterbacks and rehabilitating players are permitted to report to training camp 47 days (July 22) ahead of the regular season if it opens on Sept. 7, followed three days later by the full roster.
Quick kicks
1. Pickens to Dallas. Pittsburgh, which remains without a starting-caliber quarterback, gave up on receiver George Pickens, flipping him to Dallas. Pickens, a free agent next March, led the NFL with 18.1 yards per catch in 2023, but has only 12 touchdowns in 48 regular-season games. But he could find a niche with the Cowboys opposite CeeDee Lamb.
Wide receiver George Pickens, right, traded from the Steelers to the Cowboys this week,聽led the NFL with 18.1 yards per catch in 2023.聽
2. Fifth-year options. The deadline passed on May 1 for teams to pick up the 2026 fifth-year contract options on their 2022 first-round draft picks. It was a moot point for the Bills, who traded cornerback Kaiir Elam to the Cowboys on March 12. In all, 19 of the 31 first-round picks eligible for the option had it exercised. The Cowboys declined Elam鈥檚 option. The most interesting decline was Baltimore center Tyler Linderbaum. Because all offensive linemen are lumped together for the option, he would have been due $23.403 million (fully guaranteed) in 2026, well above the current highest-paid center (Kansas City鈥檚 Creed Humphrey at $18 million per year). The Ravens are expected to sign Linderbaum long term.
3. Patriots roster turnover. According to The Boston Globe, the rebuilding New England Patriots have added 40 players since mid-March out of the 88 players currently under contract (45.4%). The Bills, as of Thursday, had 89 players, including to-be-signed undrafted free agents and 34 were new this year (38.2%). The difference is new starters. The Patriots project to have at least 10 new starters compared to my estimate of three for the Bills (defensive end Joey Bosa, receiver Joshua Palmer and cornerback Maxwell Hairston).
4. Extra points. The NFL schedule will be unveiled in full at 8 p.m. Wednesday. Select games will be revealed Monday (NBC, FOX and Prime Video), Tuesday (ABC) and Wednesday (CBS and Netflix). The international games will be announced Tuesday on NFL Network. ... On Thursday鈥檚 NFL Network unveil, Bills left tackle/Josh Allen wedding planner Dion Dawkins will be a guest. 鈥 Defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, 32, was cut for the first time in his career when Carolina moved on from him on Thursday. Clowney, the top overall pick in 2014, has played for Houston, Seattle, Tennessee, Cleveland and Baltimore.
