The Facts: A year ago, the Bills seriously considered selecting a tight end with their first-round draft pick. This time, the Bills are expected to stick with their tight-end acquisition plan largely because, in the words of GM Doug Whaley, new OC Greg Roman is "a big tight end guy." How will they go about getting one? The first option is the free-agent market, which opens March 10. The Bills are known to be taking a hard look at one possible free agent from the AFC East, Clay of the Miami Dolphins.
Diehards Line:
After a strong 2013 season when he established himself as a play-making presence with a career-best 69 receptions for 759 yards and six touchdowns, Clay slumped in 2014. A season-long knee injury and persistent hamstring problems took away from his speed and kept him out of two games. His targets declined from 102 to 84, although he still wound up with a solid 58 receptions for 605 yards and three touchdowns. At 6--3 and 255 pounds, Clay offers the athletic versatility to occasionally line up as a fullback and function as a lead blocker, an important element to the run-oriented offense the Bills plan to employ. He would figure to be an upgrade for the Bills, who want more of play-making impact from a group comprised of Scott Chandler, Chris Gragg, MarQueis Gray, and pending unrestricted free agent Lee Smith. Other potential free-agent candidates at tight end are Julius Thomas of the Denver Broncos, Jordan Cameron of the Cleveland Browns and Jermaine Gresham of the Cincinnati Bengals.
