WR Brandon Tate talks about why he chose to come back to Buffalo and how his fellow teammates feel about the new coaching staff plus the The Score ranks the AFC East as the most improved division after free agency.
By Anthony Sambrotto / Contributing Correspondent
1 – Brandon Tate says players feel good vibes from the coaching staff
Brandon Tate never had a doubt in his mind that he’d be returning to Buffalo after one of the best seasons of his career.
The Bills brought the return specialist back on a one-year deal last week, and Tate joined The John Murphy Show on Monday to discuss his excitement coming back and his eagerness to work with the new coaching staff.
“It’s a blessing for me to come back, and I appreciate the organization for having me,” Tate said. “I’m really excited to get to work and I can’t wait for April 3rd. It’s an opportunity that you have to take one day at a time and really work for it.”
Tate said his ultimate goal was to return to the Bills, but it took almost two weeks to get a deal done because he wanted to see how teams around the league valued him.
“My heart was still in Buffalo, I just had to play hard to get with them a little bit,” he said. “I got tired of waiting and me and my agent made it happen.”
The 29-year-old joined the Bills after being cut by the Bengals last September, and immediately boosted Buffalo’s return game. He ranked fifth in the league with an 11.6 punt return average, and averaged 22.8 yards on kick returns, good for seventh in the NFL.
Tate, who trains and spends his offseason in the Cincinnati area, has spent time with Preston Brown and Luke Kuechly this offseason, and has heard nothing but good things about incoming head coach Sean McDermott.
“The vibe I’m getting from everybody is that it’s going to be real great,” Tate said. “So I’m excited to get back. Luke told me that he’s a real serious guy but once he comes in and he sees your work ethic and how you are, he’ll love you and he’s a cool coach. So I’m willing to come in and win him over with my work ethic and little things like being on time. I’m ready to just win him over.”
In addition to McDermott, Tate is also excited about getting back to work with special teams coordinator Danny Crossman, the lone holdover from Rex Ryan’s coaching staff.
“He let me come in and just play my game,” Tate said. “Of course, he coached me and everything like that but I got to play and we worked together. I feel like he’s a great coach and he trusts that you’re going to do the right thing, so he played a huge part in me coming back.”
2 – AFC East ranks as the most improved division after free agency
The AFC East had the most activity over the first several weeks of free agency, and according to one media outlet, the one that had the most improvement.
The Score rated the AFC East as the league’s most upgraded division and gave high praise for the moves made by Buffalo’s front office.
“In Buffalo, the Bills are working to gloss over the Rex Ryan regime with a number of signings for new coach Sean McDermott. The most important move, however, was the decision to ink starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor to a much more team-friendly contract,” Michael McClymont wrote.
“Aside from that, the Bills provided star runner LeSean McCoy with two new fullbacks in Mike Tolbert and Patrick DiMarco, signed new kicker Steven Hauschka, added receivers Andre Holmes and Brandon Tate to replace the departed Robert Woods and Justin Hunter, and brought aboard strong safety Micah Hyde.”
Buffalo had a league-high 23 unrestricted free agents entering the offseason. The Bills have six picks in the 2017 NFL Draft, including 10th overall. McDermott and Doug Whaley will be plenty busy until the start of Training Camp, but The Score is a big fan of the offseason thus far.
“A lot of work still needs to be done. The team remains in talks to re-sign their leading tackler of a year ago, Zach Brown, and Leonard Johnson alone can’t replace the losses of Gilmore and Nickell Robey-Coleman in the secondary. Nonetheless, the Bills are candidates to improve on their 7-9 showing.”
3 – Bills annual Predict the Picks contest is underway
By now, everyone has seen plenty of mock drafts and experts offering their takes on who the Bills will select 10th overall.
But starting this week, draft enthusiasts can get in on the action as well. Fans have a chance to be the real winners of the draft by correctly predicting who Buffalo will take with their first pick on April 27th.
As part of a contest with M&T Bank, fans can choose one of 98 college prospects for the team to take, with one lucky fan getting the opportunity to meet a Bills draft pick.
Fans have until the night before the first round of the draft to make their choice.
If that isn’t enough excitement for fans, there is also still time to complete The Buffalo Bills Schedule Challenge. Fans can make their guesses on a variety of questions regarding Buffalo’s 2017 regular season schedule and will be entered for a chance to win prizes—including a pair of 2017 Club Season Tickets, on-field passes to the home opener and an autographed helmet.
The deadline for that contest is Friday.
4 – Bills claim DE
The Bills also claimed defensive end Scott Crichton from the Minnesota Vikings on Tuesday.
Crichton joins the Bills after spending the previous three seasons with Minnesota. He saw action in 21 games in 2014 and 2015 and spent the 2016 season on injured reserve.
Crichton was drafted by Minnesota in 2014 in the third round (72nd overall selection) from Oregon State. Crichton, 25, is a native of Tacoma, WA.