Gooch
02-16-2005, 11:00 AM
Veteran declines reserve role with club
Leo Roth
Staff writer
(February 16, 2005) — The Buffalo Bills have handed quarterback Drew Bledsoe his walking papers, several sources reported late Tuesday. The Bills have scheduled a news conference for 1 p.m. today.
At least the Bills had the heart to wait until after Valentine's Day, Bledsoe's 33rd birthday.
After a 9-7 season during which Bledsoe ranked 25th in passer rating and played poorly in a season-ending loss to Pittsburgh that kept Buffalo out the playoffs, coach Mike Mularkey and general manager Tom Donahoe indicated the quarterback situation would be studied in detail.
Their conclusion was that it's time to hand the starting job to J.P. Losman, last season's first-round pick, without the sideshow of a training camp battel.
Bledsoe reportedly was offered the opportunity to return to the club as a backup for a reduced salary, but he declined after a series of discussions with Mularkey, who assured Bledsoe that his decision to go with Losman next fall was final.
Per NFL rules, the Bills can't officially cut Bledsoe until Feb. 22, the start of the league's waiver system.
Donahoe would not comment when approached Tuesday night by a crew from Buffalo television station WGRZ-TV. Messages left for team officials and Bills players for comment were not returned.
Bledsoe, acquired in a 2002 trade with the New England Patriots for a first-round pick, played three seasons in Buffalo and posted a 23-25 overall record.
By releasing Bledsoe before the start of free agency on March 2, Buffalo saves $2.2 million in salary cap space. The Bills will be in the market for a modestly priced veteran backup for Losman.
There is heavy speculation that Bledsoe will sign next with the Dallas Cowboys and reunite with coach Bill Parcells, who drafted him first overall in 1993.
LROTH@DemocratandChronicle.com.
Leo Roth
Staff writer
(February 16, 2005) — The Buffalo Bills have handed quarterback Drew Bledsoe his walking papers, several sources reported late Tuesday. The Bills have scheduled a news conference for 1 p.m. today.
At least the Bills had the heart to wait until after Valentine's Day, Bledsoe's 33rd birthday.
After a 9-7 season during which Bledsoe ranked 25th in passer rating and played poorly in a season-ending loss to Pittsburgh that kept Buffalo out the playoffs, coach Mike Mularkey and general manager Tom Donahoe indicated the quarterback situation would be studied in detail.
Their conclusion was that it's time to hand the starting job to J.P. Losman, last season's first-round pick, without the sideshow of a training camp battel.
Bledsoe reportedly was offered the opportunity to return to the club as a backup for a reduced salary, but he declined after a series of discussions with Mularkey, who assured Bledsoe that his decision to go with Losman next fall was final.
Per NFL rules, the Bills can't officially cut Bledsoe until Feb. 22, the start of the league's waiver system.
Donahoe would not comment when approached Tuesday night by a crew from Buffalo television station WGRZ-TV. Messages left for team officials and Bills players for comment were not returned.
Bledsoe, acquired in a 2002 trade with the New England Patriots for a first-round pick, played three seasons in Buffalo and posted a 23-25 overall record.
By releasing Bledsoe before the start of free agency on March 2, Buffalo saves $2.2 million in salary cap space. The Bills will be in the market for a modestly priced veteran backup for Losman.
There is heavy speculation that Bledsoe will sign next with the Dallas Cowboys and reunite with coach Bill Parcells, who drafted him first overall in 1993.
LROTH@DemocratandChronicle.com.