Buffalo Bills notes: Stephen A. and Stefon Diggs drama, players signed, pass rush problems
ORCHARD PARK - Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott hinted the other day that despite recording three sacks in the loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, he wasn’t necessarily thrilled with the effectiveness of the pass rush.
Although Pro Football Focus credited the Bills with 10 pressures on Pittsburgh’s 27 dropbacks, only six of those came from the defensive line, and only two came from regular rotation pieces, Greg Rousseau and A.J. Epenesa.
When the first units were playing on both sides early in the game, Steelers starting quarterback Kenny Pickett had very little pressure to deal with and he went 3 of 4 for 43 yards and a touchdown.
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Improving the pass rush has been a point of emphasis for the Bills this season, especially if Von Miller won’t be available for the first few weeks. Assistant head coach/defensive line coach Eric Washington spoke about the pass rush before practice Tuesday, and he said he’s not to the point where he’s worried about it.
“We’re using the process right now to make sure that we’re ready to go when it counts and right now we’re in the midst of that,” he said. “There’s some things that we just need to do a little bit better as far as coordination, as far as all being on the same page, so we can really take advantage of the exceptional talent that we have to win one-on-one.
“I know what the guys are capable of and they know what we need to fix and adjust and we’ll get there. Keep in mind we had three sacks in the first game and three in the second game, so we’ve gotten the quarterback on the ground from the guys who are in the first huddle all the way through the guys who are ending the game.”
Eric Washington impressed by two young edge rushers
The Bills have a stacked depth chart on the edge with Greg Rousseau, Epenesa, Leonard Floyd, Boogie Basham and Shaq Lawson, with Miller coming aboard at some point. It’s likely that someone in that group is not making the 53-man roster, so the odds of Kingsley Jonathan and Kameron Cline making the team are pretty low.
Still, both players have caught the eye of Washington and if they don’t make the roster, they could be candidates for the Bills’ practice squad or perhaps another team’s roster.
Jonathan played collegiately at Syracuse and was with the Bills briefly last year. He had two tackles including a sack against the Steelers.
“I think he made a nice case for himself in the game last week,” Washington said. “He did some nice things in the ballgame as a rusher; he got a sack in the game, he was physical at the point of attack. his effort to the ball. I was really impressed with his mindset, his physicality, the energy.”
Cline spent three seasons with the Colts but saw action in only five games. He was released in May and the Bills quickly signed him to provide competition. Against the Steelers he had a sack and recovered a fumble, and also had a half-sack in the game against Indianapolis Aug. 12.
“He’s done some nice things and there’s a reason, obviously, that we brought him in,” Washington said. “Quick, he’s got a lot of energy off the ball. Explosive type player off the edge. I like what he’s done in the first two preseason ballgames, he has definitely got my attention.”
Roster moves made to bulk up for Bears
The Bills made three signings Monday that seemed targeted for one purpose: To give them capable bodies to play in Saturday’s preseason finale at Chicago.
Running back Ty Johnson, who played formerly for the Jets and Lions, was brought in because Damien Harris continues to recover from his knee injury. Harris has not played in the first two preseason games and while he’s back at practice, the Bills may choose to sit him out against Chicago so as to not risk an aggravation.
Starter James Cook will also play very little, if at all, and the Bills may even want to go easy on 33-year-old Latavius Murray, so Johnson may share carries with Darrynton Evans and Jordan Mims.
Johnson was a sixth-round pick of the Lions in 2019 who moved to the Jets midway through 2020. He has totaled 1,593 yards from scrimmage and scored seven touchdowns in 62 career games. Last year with New York he played 42% of the special teams snaps and then in April, after he had re-signed with the team, he suffered a torn pectoral muscle and was waived with a non-football injury designation.
Linebacker DaShaun White was an undrafted player in 2023 after playing five seasons at Oklahoma. He is undersized at 6-foot and 218 pounds, but in college he earned honorable mention All-Big 12 in 2022 when he made 90 tackles. Matt Milano is unlikely to play so the only outside linebackers the Bills have are Travin Howard and rookie Dorian Williams.
As for offensive tackle Garrett McGhin, the Bills have a little familiarity with him as he was here for training camp in 2019 and 2020 but. His only NFL action came in 2019 when he played two games for the Panthers. More recently, he has been playing in both the XFL and USFL. In 2022 he was named to the All-USFL team and in 2023, he helped Arlington win the XFL championship.
The Bills are trying to bulk up their depth at tackle after it took a big hit last week with the season-ending injury to Tommy Doyle and the retirement of Brandon Shell. McGhin will share reps against the Bears with Ryan Van Demark, David Quessenberry and Richard Gouraige.
More drama surrounding Stefon Diggs
Only this time, the star wide receiver had nothing to do with it.
Stephen A. Smith of ESPN, on his blabbermouth talk show Monday, blabbed about Diggs wanting to get out of Buffalo, citing sources.
“Brother wants out, I’m just telling you what I know,” Smith said. “He don’t want to be in Buffalo anymore. I have my sources. Stefon Diggs has got to be there but he’d prefer to be gone because he’s lost a level of belief in the Buffalo Bills.”
Look, if Diggs played in the NBA, maybe I’d pay attention when Smith cites “sources” because obviously, the NBA is where he’s connected. When it comes to the NFL, yeah, not so much. This is the same Smith who once called Marcell Dareus, Darcell Mareus.
Diggs caught wind of this and quickly rebutted it with a tweet, or whatever it is we’re calling interaction on the new X platform. “100% not true. I don’t know who the source is but I thought (I’d) nip this (crap) in the bud already.”
Whatever was going on during the offseason has long been put to bed when Diggs addressed all of it on the first day of training camp in late July. And to see him each day at practice, he sure doesn’t look like a player who’s looking to get out.
Jessica Pegula visits practice
The professional tennis star and daughter of Terry and Kim Pegula was on hand Tuesday to watch the Bills’ workout and to address the team afterward. It is uncertain what Pegula said, but she may have shared an update about her mother who continues to recover from the cardiac arrest she suffered 14 months ago.
Pegula, fresh off her third career victory as a pro when the captured the event in Montreal, is gearing up for the U.S. Open which gets underway next week.
After practice ended, Pegula went into the fieldhouse and took several swings with her racket from about midfield, trying to hit the crossbar on the uprights. Among her ball shaggers were quarterbacks Josh Allen and Kyle Allen.
Sal Maiorana can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @salmaiorana and on Threads @salmaiorana1. To subscribe to Sal's newsletter, Bills Blast, which will come out every Friday during training camp, please follow this link: https://profile.democratandchronicle.com/newsletters/bills-blast
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Bills news: Pass rush problems, Stefon Diggs drama, 3 players signed
