Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) - My wife and I were driving through Georgia when I received a text from WKBW-TV's Matt Bove. I was a contributor for Channel 7 during the football season, and Matt wanted to know if I could do a quick interview with him about all of the Bills moves.
I hadn't looked at my phone in a while, so I had no idea what he was talking about.
I went on Twitter - I refuse to call it "X" - to see what Matt was talking about. Initially, I saw the Bills released Deonte Harty and Siran Neal, and had signed Matt Haack. I was pretty sure that was not what Matt was referring to.
I kept scrolling and saw the Bills had released safety Jordan Poyer. I kept going, and saw they also released center Mitch Morse.
The tone of Matt's text led me to believe that wasn't all of the news.
A little additional scrolling, and there was the tweet about Tre'Davious White being released as well.
At face value, you were probably shocked. It wasn't as big as the day the Bills walked away from three future Hall-of-Famers in Thurman Thomas, Andre Reed and Bruce Smith, but it was eye-opening, for sure.
It shouldn't have been that surprising, though. When you take into account the Bills' nasty cap situation and other factors, including age of players, injury history, cap numbers and contracts for those three players, you could have seen all of this coming.
First-and-foremost, the Bills' Super Bowl window has not closed.
Josh Allen is still in his prime, and the franchise quarterback is the most important piece in a Super Bowl puzzle. There are a number of other key pieces that are still on the roster, and in terms of filling spots that are now open, general manager Brandon Beane and the front office have been very good at identifying talent at both the pro and collegiate level.
11 picks in this year's draft will certainly help restock the roster.
It is sad to see talented players and leaders on and off the field be released, but this is the business side of football.
Morse was one of the more expensive free agent signings in the Beane/Sean McDermott era. He became the anchor of the offensive line, and a key part of the Allen-led offense, which has been among the NFL's best for the last few years.
The release of Morse was odd, because he was still playing at a high level last season on a line that saw the same five players start every single game. However, the Bills needed to really hack into their cap number, and Morse had one of the highest cap numbers for the upcoming season.
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White was the very first draft pick made by, then, new Bills head coach in 2017.
White became one of the best cornerbacks to wear a Bills uniform, but it was more than just how White played. His energy level and love of the game was infectious. You could tell that from the very first training camp he took part in at St. John Fisher University in Rochester.
He always looked like he was having so much fun. How many NFL players created their own goalie academy?
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Poyer's departure might mean we've seen the last of fellow safety Micah Hyde. His contract was up after last season, and he has yet to inform the Bills whether or not he is retiring or would like to keep playing.
Poyer and Hyde, who were signed on the same day back in 2017, will both go down as two of the greatest free agent pickups in Bills history. Over their seven-year run, they were one of the top, if not the best safety tandems in the league. They did a tremendous job of running the secondary, disguising coverages, confusing quarterbacks and making big plays.
Poyer started all 107 games he played in and recorded 22 interceptions, eight forced fumbles, six fumble recoveries and 11 sacks. Hyde started all 95 games in which he was dressed and totaled 16 interceptions, three forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries.
That's 38 combined picks over seven seasons.
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As I said, that is a drop off in talent level for sure, but remember: The two guys in charge - Beane and McDermott - were also responsible for getting those players in the first place.
Have faith.
