Aaron Wilson at nationalfootballpost.com is report that the Buffalo Bills will host free agent nose tackle Jimmy Kennedy.  Kennedy will likely visit One Bills Drive on Friday.

The Bills are very thin at the defensive tackle spot and despite switching to a 3-4 defense, Buffalo does not have a traditional, space eating nose tackle that has become the calling card center piece for a 3-4 defense unit.

At 6′4″, 320 pounds, Kennedy has spent the past two seasons with the Minnesota Vikings as a backup to Pat Williams and Kevin Williams.  In 2009, Kennedy appeared in 11 games, totaling 18 tackles and three sacks, the most sacks he’s had since 2005.  A former first round pick (12th overall)  in 2003, Kennedy has played for four teams in his seven-year career: St. Louis, Chicago, Jacksonville and Minnesota.

Kennedy will be only the third free agent to visit Buffalo this off-season.  The Bills have hosted a pair of offensive linemen, guard Wade Smith and tackle Cornell Green.  Smith signed with the Houston Texans on Wednesday and the Bills inked Green to a three-year deal on Monday.

This could be the Bills’ final chance to add some help at defensive tackle until the draft in April.  Many prominent nose tackles have not been available on the open market.  New England placed the franchise tag on Vince Wilfork, then signed him to a five-year, $40 million contract.  Pittsburgh made sure to hang on to nose tackle Casey Hampton, locking him up with a three-year deal worth $21.3 million.  San Franciso placed the franchise tag on Aubrayo Franklin.  Green Bay did the same with Ryan Pickett. Tennessee’s Tony Brown is a restricted free agent and to acquire him would force the Bills to part with high draft picks.

Buffalo bypassed NT Jamal Williams, who was released by San Diego just before free agency opened last Friday. Surprisingly, with their strong need for help at nose tackle  the Bills showed no apparent interest in Williams.  Williams signed with Denver on Tuesday.

It’s likely that if the Bills do not come to terms and agree on a contract with Kennedy, they’ll have to wait until the NFL Draft in April to address their defensive tackle needs.

Last year, the Buffalo Bills made a huge, out-of-the-box splash signing free agent Terrell Owens.  This free agent year however, the Bills been, well…patient.  Or prudent.  While other teams made a mad dash into the free agent pool, the Bills have barely gotten their toes wet. 

The Bills entered the offseason with a heightened sense of urgency to address their problems on the offensive line.  On Monday, the Bills added free agent tackle Cornell Green from the Oakland Raiders signing him to a three-year deal worth $9 million.

Granted, this signing probably generated as much excitement as the hiring of Chan Gailey.   As for the price tag, well I’d consider the deal awfully, awfully generous for a journeyman tackle.  And then there’s the thought of the Bills bringing in another former Raider offensive lineman.  I don’t think anyone needs a refresher on how the Langston Walker experiment turned out.

Nonetheless, the Bills needed to add whatever pieces they could to the offensive line.  Brad Butler, who was last season’s starting right tackle, announced his retirement last month and starting left tackle Demetrius Bell is coming off a knee injury that required surgery last season. Green now joins the mix at tackle with  Bell, Jamon Meredith, Kirk Chambers, and Andre Ramsey.  Green is penciled in as the starter at right tackle with the departure of Butler.

Green is a 12-year veteran out of Central Florida.  The 6-foot-6 315 pound tackle has played for four teams, most recently with the Oakland Raiders the past three seasons.  He started all 16 games in 2008 and 12 games last season, but missed four games with a calf injury.  Green will turn 34 in August.  He began his career with the New York Jets as an undrafted rookie.  Green also has played for Denver and twice played with Tampa Bay.

Bills GM Buddy Nix and his staff have their collective work cut out for them.  We know not all of the Bills’ problems can be solved in one year of free agency and one year in the draft.  They’re just not that team that you can look at and say, “okay, they’re about a couple players away from really being formidable”.  Now I don’t expect the Bills to just sit on their hands and do nothing during free agency.  My guess is they’ll target some players and try to plug some of their holes before the draft.  Who those players are is a  complete rubix cube mystery.

This free agent year promises to be duller than dishwater or an Andy Reid press conference.  Not that there’s much a difference between either.  The big fish in an otherwise dried-out pond is defensive end Julius Peppers.  No question the Bills could use defensive end help, but Peppers is likely to carry an elephant sized pricetag, somewhere between $12-15 million per season.  Too deep for the Bills’ pockets.

Quick recap so we’re all on the same page regarding free agency: NFL owners and players have not agreed on a new collective bargaining agreement, so the 2010 season will be played without a salary cap.  Since an agreement wasn’t reached, now we have a rule that affects free agency. Under normal circumstances, veterans with four or five seasons of experience become unrestricted free agents. This year, however, those same players will need six years to become an unrestricted free agent, which means many NFL players become restricted free agents instead.

So as the 2010 NFL free agency period began at 12:01 a.m. on Friday morning, the sidelines will be littered with prominent talent: Miles Austin, Elvis Dumervil, DeMeco Ryans, Owen Daniels, Brandon Marshall, Braylon Edwards, Vincent Jackson and Shawn Merriman. 

As the new Bills’ regime begins taking their first steps towards bringing in “their guys”, we know where the Bills have holes.  Brad Butler retired and unless you have unwavering faith in Demetrius Bell and Jamon Meredith, the Bills are in desperate need for help at both left and right tackle.  Sadly, the Bills won’t find help from San Diego’s Marcus McNeil or Baltimore’s Jared Gaither.  McNeil, who has a rapport with Nix while he was with San Diego, was slapped with a first and a third-round tender by San Diego.  The Ravens hit Gaither with a first-round tender of their own.

Linebacker help doesn’t rank far behind offensive line help.  Paul Posluszny had suffered injuries in two of his first three seasons, while both Kawika Mitchell & Keith Ellison endured season ending injuries in 2009.  Buffalo will be looking at add some depth at linebacker they were badly missing last season.  Chargers linebacker Shawn Merriman could’ve been a solid, centerpiece to the Bills’ new 3-4 linebacking unit, but he too has been tendered.

The departures of wide receivers Terrell Owens and Josh Reed leaves the Bills both young and inexperienced at wideout.  James Hardy and Steve Johnson have a combined four starts between them, while playing in a combined three games in 2009.  Buffalo should be looking to add some veteran help at wide receiver to alleviate pressure and attention from Lee Evans.  Both Vincent Jackson and Malcom Floyd have also been tendered by the Chargers.  Jackson has develop into a top flight, go-to-guy while Floyd is blossoming into a promising, dependable target.  Floyd had better receptions and receiving yards than Evans in 2009.

Now here’s where the fun really begins.   The quarterback position is yet another area of need for the Bills, however they’re more likely to stick with the Edwards-Fitzpatrick-Brohm trio in 2010 than they are likely to find quarterback help in free agency.  It’s not a group that will have teams drooling, nor will they command a bidding frenzy but any options the Bills may have had in mind are likely gone by the wayside now. 

Chad Pennington is returning to the Miami Dolphins.  Kyle Orton, Jason Campbell, Matt Moore, Tarvaris Jackson and Bruce Gradkowski have all been retained by their respective teams.  Now that Carolina has cut ties with Jake Delhomme, Moore could end being starting for the Panthers and Carolina tendered Moore for first and third-rounds picks.  Both Orton and Campbell were tendered at a first-round level.  Gradkowski was tendered by Oakland at the second-round level.  Jackson was tendered by Minnesota at a third-round level.

Finally, there’s that pesky situation of trying to find the centerpiece of a 3-4 defense: a space eating, small-Volkswagon like nose tackle.  These guys are like pitching in baseball and goaltending in hockey: if you have  them, by no means are you parting with them.  Finding could prove to be Nix’s most daunting task. Vince Wilfork of the Patriots was the highest-profile potential free agent in what could have been a stellar year for nose tackles in free agency, but New England wisely slapped Wilfork with a franchise tag.  He’s scheduled to make $7 million and it would be a steep cost  two first-round picks to anyone who signs Wilfork.. Also franchised were San Fransisco NT Aubrayo Franklin and Packers NT Ryan Pickett. The Pittsburgh Steelers avoided  hitting nose tackle Casey Hampton with the franchise tag and signed Hampton to a three-year extension last week.

Just because these players mentioned have either been tendered or franchise tagged doesn’t mean that teams won’t go after them, but teams will suffer heavy consequences should they decide to go that route.  You would have to sign a player to a free agent offer sheet AND give up significant compensation to the player’s current team.

Building through the draft just took on a whole new meaning.

ESPN’s John Clayton has reported that the Buffalo Bills have re-signed unrestricted free agent safety Bryan Scott.  The deal is for two years and is worth a little over $3 million.

The 29-year old out of Penn State, Scott had double-duty with the Bills in 2009, starting at both strong safety and weak side linebacker.  He started the Bills’ first three games at strong safety, but an ankle injury caused him to miss the next five games.  Due to the Bills’ pile up of injuries at the linebacker spot (Kawika Mitchell & Keith Ellison were both lost for the season with injuries), once Scott returned he preceded to start six games at weak-side linebacker.  Scott missed the final two games of the season with a concussion.  In nine games, Scott recorded 81 tackles, two sacks, an interception and a forced fumble.

As the Bills transition to a 3-4 defense under new defensive coordinator George Edwards, Scott is likely to be moved back to strong safety.  Bringing Scott back provides Buffalo with solid depth at the safety position with fellow safeties Donte Whitner, Jairus Byrd and George Wilson.

In 2009, Wilson registered two sacks, four interceptions and made 67 tackles in 15 games for the Bills; all were career highs for the safety.

WGR Sports Radio 550 also reported that the Bills have offered a tender to linebacker Keith Ellison.  Ellison has been tendered at $1.17 million.  It would take a sixth-round pick for a team to sign Ellison.  Corner back Ashton Youboty and tight end Derek Schouman have also received tenders; Youboty has been tendered for a third-round pick and Schouman has been tendered for a second-round pick.

With Buffalo extending tender offers to Wilson, Ellison, Youboty and Schouman, that means Gibran Hamdan, Jonathan Scott, Richie Incognito and Joe Klopfenstein now become unrestricted free agents.  Scott made eight starts for the Bills last season, who were ravaged by injuries on the offensive line.  Incognito, who was claimed off waivers in December by St. Louis, made three starts for the Bills’ offensive line mash unit.

Shocked would be putting it mildly.  I never imagined that his small market, no-nonsense organization that mirrors its surrounding communities would go out and make such a bold move to bring in a lightning rod, a high profile name, a diva if you will.  At that moment, I was geared up and ready for football to get going again.  I felt like I could put on the shoulder pads, strap on a helmet and go out and pummel the first thing that moved.

The excitement reached levels not seen since the Bills acquired rival New England quarterback Drew Bledsoe.  Immediately, the expectations went sky high.  Owens would form one of the league’s best wide out duos with Lee Evans.  He would make this stick-in-mud, sorry offense a threat.  He would make Trent Edwards better.  He would make the sun shine brighter, the grass greener and the sky bluer.

Those were the perceived optomistic perceptions.  Realty proved to be a cold mother something.  Now it seems like the preseason served as a gigantic warning sign of things to come.  For those of you who are into the Harry Potter phenomenon, think of Alvis Dumbledore telling Harry that “dark and difficult times lie ahead” at the conclusion of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.  Owens battled a nagging toe injury for most of the preseason.  The Bills jettisoned offensive coordinator Turk Schonert and starting tackle Langston Walker.

You don’t need me to remind you that the T.O-Buffalo marriage didn’t work out on the field.  The offense was miserable again.  To nobody’s surprise, the Bills endured a quarterback change and in fact used three different quarterbacks in 2009.  Dick Jauron didn’t make it to Thanksgiving as head coach.  It all added up to a mediocre year in Buffalo for Owens:  55 catches, 829 receiving yards and six touchdowns.  They were the lowest numbers of his career since 2005 when he was suspended by Philadelphia and only played in seven games.  If you want to take it a bit further, it was Owens’ worst full season since 1999 when he was with San Francisco.

Take this to the bank, and I’m willing to bet dollars to donuts this won’t argued: the quarterback makes the receiver, not the other way around.  That was none more evident than in Orchard Park this season.  The struggles began early for the Bills offense and Owens had a front row seat to endure it. In the Bills first three games of the season, with Edwards under center, Owens had only five catches to go with one touchdown.  In Week 3 against New Orleans, Owens failed to register at least one catch for the first time in 186 games.  It didn’t get any better.  Over the next six games, Owens had a total of 21 catches and only one touchdown, a reverse against Houston.

It wasn’t the Bills’ season was effectively over that Owens was brought back to life, albeit just temporarily.  Buffalo was 3-6.  Jauron was given his walking papers and interim coach Perry Fewell took over and pronounced Ryan Fitzpatrick the full time starter for the remainder of the Bills’ seven games.  Fitpatrick guided the Bills to wins over the New York Jets (in relief of the injured Edwards) and Carolina, but once healthy Edwards went back to being the starter.  Against Jacksonville and Miami, with Fitzpatrick starting and Edwards planted on the bench, Owens piled up 14 catches for 293 yards and two scores, highlighted by a 98-yard touchdown reception in Jacksonville that became the longest scoring play in Buffalo Bills history.

Over the final five games, however, Owens’ final games as a Bill largely mirrored how his season began.  Owens caught just 15 passes in the last five games along with two touchdowns.  In a Week 16 loss at Atlanta, with Brian Brohm making his first career NFL start, Owens recorded his 1,000th catch of his career.

There was no fairy tale ending for Owens and the Bills.  Buffalo finished 6-10 and missed the playoffs for the 10th consecutive year.  Despite his down year, Lee Evans reaped the rewards of playing with Owens.  Evans’ seven touchdowns was the highest number of touchdowns he’s had since 2006.  Dating back to 2004 when Evans and Moulds combined for 14 touchdowns, this is first time since then that the Bills’ top two wide receivers combined for more than 12 touchdowns.

Through all the controversy, the popcorn, the sharpie and the lifting weights on his front lawn, Owens was a model citizen in Buffalo.  Both his embrace and interactions with the fans was spectacular.  I’d like to think that leaving Buffalo, Owens probably feels a new found appreciation for playing with the likes of Steve Young, Donovan McNabb, Tony Romo and even Jeff Garcia.  He’s always marched to the beat of his own orchestra and this wasn’t an easy season to swallow for T.O.  But he did what a few of his former employers wished he would’ve been able to do more:  work hard, show up on gamedays and keep your mouth shut.  In Buffalo, Owens gets gold stars in all three categories. 

It wasn’t a perfect marriage and both parties knew going in this was probably a one-and-done scenario for Owens.  Sure he’s not the same receiver he was six years ago, but I don’t know if I completely agree with the whole  “he’s lost a step” concept.  He’s still capable of being a dominant guy and he’s definitely still got game.  However, he’s probably not the centerpiece or main focal point of an offense anymore.  Where he needs the most help is at quarterback.  The Bills didn’t and don’t have a McNabb or Romo-type quarterback.  You can probably make the case they don’t have a Jeff Garcia-type signal caller either. 

It’s best for both parties.  The Bills are under a new regime moving in a new direction and could very well come back with the same trio of quarterbacks in 2010.  Owens is still chasing that elusive championship and it’s likely his next landing spot will have a much more stable and better quarterback situation. 

Thanks for the memories, T.O.!

The Buffalo Bills have signed free agent defensive tackle Marlon Favorite, the team said Tuesday in a press release. The 6-foot-1, 317-pounder spent the 2009 season on the practice squads of St. Louis, Kansas City, Seattle and New Orleans. Favorite entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with Carolina on May 1, 2009.

At around 7 p.m. while on my Facebook page, I came across a post from Terrell Owens, and here’s what Owens had to say:

“I would like to thank the great fans in Buffalo,Ralph Wilson & the Bills organization for all their support this past season. I enjoyed my time in Buffalo.”

Without knowing or hearing of anything throughout the day, I thought his comments sounded fishy, like he was saying goodbye.  Sounding as though he knew (like I think we all did) he wouldn’t be back in Buffalo in 2010.  A half hour later and it’s now official. 

According to reports from buffalorumblings.com and buffalonews.com, Owens along with fellow wideout Josh Reed and defensive end Ryan Denney have been informed they won’t be resigned by the Bills.  All three players will become unrestricted free agents when the NFL free agent signing period commences this Friday, March 5th.

As expected, this concludes Owens’ one-year stint in Buffalo.  Unfortunately for both parties, things didn’t quite work out the way we all hoped.  Owens’ 2010 campaign was pedestrian in a Bills uniform, catching 55 balls for 829 yards to go along with five touchdowns.  Owens had his best game as a Bill in Week 11 against Jacksonville hauling in 9 passes for 196 yards including a 98-yard touchdown reception, which was the longest catch of his career.  His biggest accomplishment happened in Week 16 against Atlanta when Owens recorded his 1,000th reception.

Both Josh Reed and Ryan Denney have spent their entire eight-year NFL careers in Buffalo; both were second round picks of the Bills in the 2002 NFL Draft.  Reed ends his tenure with the Bills amassing 311 catches for 3,575 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns.  The former LSU product will turn 30 on May 1st.  Denney exits Buffalo with 298 tackles, 23.5 sacks and six forced fumbles in his eight-year career with the Bills.  The defensive end out of BYU will turn 33 in June.