For the second straight day, the Buffalo Bills have made a switch in undrafted free agent rookies on their roster.
On Thursday, the team announced they have signed former Fresno State defensive back Isaiah Green. Green is a 5-foot-10, 180-pound player that had 94 tackles and 14 passes defensed in 46 games with the Bulldogs.
He takes the spot of linebacker Garrick Williams on the 90-man roster.
The Buffalo Bills made a change to their roster after just one day of Organized Team Activities.
The team announced Wednesday that they have signed undrafted free agent wide receiver Derek Session. The wideout participated in the team's rookie mini-camp in May. Session is a 6-foot-1, 225-pound receiver that had 132 catches for 1,364 yards and five touchdowns in 48 total games for the Universtiy of Maine.
The Bills have also announced the release of offensive lineman Paul Madsen. Madsen was an undrafted free agent signing by the team following the 2012 NFL Draft.
With rookie mini-camp wrapped up at One Bills Drive over the weekend, the Buffalo Bills have invited two of the players that were in on a tryout to training camp.
The team announced Monday that they have signed tryout players Dorin Dickerson (fullback) and Nick Saenz (safety) to a contract. The team also has added former Mississippi State offensive tackle James Carmon.
The Bills only had one roster spot open, so they also released two players to make room. Former Richmond quarterback Aaron Corp and Mercyhurst safety Ian Wild.
Monmouth College quarterback Alex Tanney who was brought in for a workout over the weekend was not signed by the team, and is no longer affiliated with the Bills in any way at this point in time. Tanney is the Youtube "Trick Shot Quarterback" that went viral.
Here is the information on the three new Bills' players from Monday's press release:
Dickerson entered the NFL as a seventh-round (227th overall) draft pick by Houston in 2010 and saw action in seven games with the Texans. The 6-1, 226-pound Pittsburgh product was released by Houston prior to the 2011 season and sport a portion of the year on the Pittsburgh and New England practice squads.
Saenz (pronounced SIE-nz) joins the Bills as an undrafted free agent from the University of Houston. The 6-0, 195-pound safety recorded 240 tackles (135 solo) in 52 games for the Cougars from 2008-11.
Carmon, a 6-7, 320-pound undrafted free agent from Mississippi State, started 10 of 11 games in 2011 for the Bulldogs.
Following the close of rookie mini-camp for the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, Chan Gailey was asked if any of the 21 players in for a tryout caught his eye.
The head coach vaguely responded that a couple had impressed him, and he would go in and have a discussion with the rest of the brain trust at One Bills Drive.
It seems as though the conversations were rather quick, because one player in for a look tweeted that he has joined the team on Sunday. The player is former University of Pittsburgh wide receiver Dorin Dickerson, who was a seventh round pick by the Houston Texans in 2010.
Dickerson is 6-foot-1, weighing 226-pounds according to the Bills' official tryout roster. Most consider him as a tight end, but the Bills have him on the roster as a fullback. He spent last season as a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers practice squad. Dickerson ran a 4.4 in the 40-yard dash at the 2010 NFL Scouting Combine.
The Bills have not officially announced the signing.
With all the key dates for NFL off-season activity now in the rearview mirror, the Buffalo Bills and the rest of the league have some time to breathe between now and the start of training camp.
Each team has their individual hurdles to climb. For instance, New Orleans is trying to close in on signing quarterback Drew Brees, Pittsburgh is attempting to get Mike Wallace to end their present stalemate, while the same goes for Matt Forte in Chicago and Ray Rice in Baltimore.
But for the Bills, their newest top priority isn't someone who is without a contract. As outlined in the "So what's next for the Bills?" column I wrote on Friday, the first order of business is to extend top running back Fred Jackson for the long-term.
Buddy Nix has said in the past that he will take care of Jackson, and both the player and his agent have said publicly that they trust that Nix is a man of his word. It seems the last thing the Bills would want to do is to keep Jackson waiting and wondering, especially with OTAs and mini-camps approaching quickly.
When reached over the weekend for an answer to the question, "Has there been any progress between you and the Bills," Jackson's agent Ron Raccuia responded quickly and succinctly:
"Check back with me in a couple of days."
In my experiences with various agents, the less that is said and the less you hear is usually indicative that something strong is brewing. Raccuia's lack of comment could be perceived as a hint that a deal between the Bills and Jackson is very, very close.
Or, he could just be protecting the negotiations between the team and his client -- which is also common for sensitive manners like this one. It's certainly open for interpretation.
It's no sure thing at this point in time based on a brief exchange and a few words from Raccuia, but just from my perspective and past dealings with people around the league, I wouldn't be surprised if a new deal for Jackson is announced sooner rather than later.
As the Buffalo Bills continue with voluntary workouts over at One Bills Drive, their prize of the 2012 off-season boasted on his Twitter page that he's in peak physical condition.
Newly signed defensive end Mario Williams said he's up to 300-pounds:
@bbwolf90: Not really sure how I've reached 300lbs but yet I'm faster and look better than ever physically as well as strength coming off a pec injury
Williams is listed by the Bills on their website as weighing in at 292-pounds. The former Texans defensive end was one of two key off-season additions to the defensive line for the Bills in free agency.
The six-year pro signed a six-year contract in March that made him the highest paid defensive player in league history.
The Buffalo Bills have at least one representative on a list of the best in the NFL.
Bills running back Fred Jackson was named to the NFL Network's list of the top 100 players as voted on by his peers around the league. Jackson checked in at number-83.
Accepting the honor in person, Jackson was a guest in studio and appreciated the honor.
"It's awesome," Jackson told NFL Network. "Whenever you do something any time you compete in anything you want to be considered one of the best. To be voted as one of them by your peers is the icing on the cake. I love it, and it's definitely motivating to try and stay on this list as many times as possible while you're playing."
The running back had 934 rushing yards and six touchdowns before a broken bone in his leg ended his season six games short. He is the first Bills' player to make the network's top 100.
