Inside The Bills

Kick return candidates

Here during OTAs there are a few kick return candidates on the roster and special teams coordinator Danny Crossman is not short on talent.

Taking reps on kick return in OTAs this week were Marquise Goodwin, T.J. Graham, Brad Smith and Tashard Choice. Leodis McKelvin has been mentioned as an option as well, but he’s been limited to just individual position drill work in practices coming off his groin surgery earlier this offseason.

Nevertheless the speed quota is more than filled in the return game for Buffalo.

RB Choice says he’s re-signed with Bills

He didn’t provide details, but free agent RB Tashard Choice said he’ll be back with the Bills in 2013.

That according to his Twitter account.

I want to say thanks to the Bills organization and to all my fans I'm heading back to buffalo. http://t.co/hNxktWXqV9—
Tashard Choice (@tchoice23) March 29, 2013

Choice is expected to again serve as the team’s 3rd running back behind C.J. Spiller and Fred Jackson.

Polian lists Byrd, Levitre among his top FAs

ESPN NFL analyst and former NFL GM Bill Polian put together his list of top free agent talent set to hit the market in mid-March and two Bills appear near the top of his list.

Polian graded pending free agents with A, B and C grades. Here’s how he valued those grades in terms of investment.

A Players: Worth paying big, starter-caliber money.
B Players: Guys I would sign but only if the value made sense.
C Players: Guys I’d sign for low-salary, short-term (one or two years) value, with low bonuses.

Appearing on his ‘A’ list for offense was Bills free agent G Andy Levitre, who was listed 8th overall on the offensive side. Here’s Polian’s assessment.

Andy Levitre
Player Analysis: Levitre is a very solid, professional, strong, offensive guard. While he has the talent, his position might limit the money he’ll see.

Appearing on his ‘A’ list for defense was Bills free agent S Jairus Byrd, who ranked 12th on the defensive list.

Jairus Byrd
Player Analysis: Timed speed is a question mark, but instincts, toughness and production are not.

The only other Bills that appeared on Polian’s free agent list were Leodis McKelvin (B grade – but injury concerns) and Tashard Choice (C grade).

C-Mac could be 3rd back

With Fred Jackson now lost for the season with a sprained MCL Buffalo is down to a pair of running backs in C.J. Spiller and Tashard Choice. When asked if the Bills might make a roster move to add a third back, head coach Chan Gailey said it’s one of their considerations.

The other consideration is to make use of FB Corey McIntyre.

“We might do that and we might just let Corey kind of be the third back. We might go that direction too,” said Gailey. “There’s a couple of ways to think about it and we’ll have to decide which is the best way to go.”

McIntyre does not have a carry on the season, but he does have one reception for nine yards.

Choice takes issue with Spikes actions

Bad enough that Patriots LB Brandon Spikes had an illegal helmet to helmet hit on Ryan Fitzpatrick that drew a flag and a likely fine from the league. Spikes also showboated after his hit on Fred Jackson that have him a concussion. That didn’t sit well with Tashard Choice.

“I don’t like to see anybody get hurt and then on top of that (Spikes) making fun of him while he’s on the ground. That really got me stirred up,” said Tashard Choice of the Patriot linebacker’s actions, “He’ll get his though. When players go down from concussions they’re serious. He wasn’t moving. It’s cool to make a big hit, but it’s not cool when somebody is down like that. He’s a good player, but you don’t do that.”

Bills on the radio

There are a couple of player radio appearances on the airwaves by the Bills today. Here’s the rundown.

Doug Russell and Mark Carman – Yahoo Sports Radio
Tashard Choice – 4:05 PM

Schopp and the Bulldog – WGR 550
George Wilson – 4:25 PM

Monday night’s John Murphy Show

We’ll take some time to review the Bills win in Cleveland tonight on The John Murphy Show.

Along with the news of the day, we’ll have Bills Rewind in our first segment at 7pm.  We’ve got the radio play by play highlights of the 24-14 victory, along with reaction from the Bills locker room.

At 7:20pm, Bills RB Tashard Choice joins us in studio.  He ran for 91 yards on Sunday, and we’ll ask him about being ready to play and what it’s like to back up C.J. Spiller and Fred Jackson.

Our Bills network sideline reporter Joe Buscaglia is live with us at 8pm to give us the view from the Cleveland sideline yesterday.

And then Chris Brown of BuffaloBills.com joins us in studio for a review of the game, and discussion about the injuries to Spiller and Jackson.

The John Murphy Show airs weeknights from 7pm-9pm on the flagship station of the Buffalo Bills, WGR Sports Radio 550.

Choice changes jersey number

As is customary this time of year when roster cuts are made more numbers become available players make jersey number changes. Tashard Choice is the latest to do so.

Choice has changed his jersey number to 20. He had been 29.

Choice to add to competition

RB Tashard Choice, who agreed to re-sign with the Bills Saturday, is only going to add to the competition in Buffalo’s offensive backfield.

Fred Jackson and C.J. Spiller are the two primary backs and that’s very unlikely to change. However, Choice will be part of a third back competition that also includes former fifth-round pick Johnny White.

Choice stunned by Hurd arrest

Chicago Bears WR Sam Hurd was arrested by federal agents Thursday on major drug trafficking charges. His former teammate with the Dallas Cowboys for three seasons, Tashard Choice was stunned by the news.

“I can’t believe it,” he said shaking his head. “I was close to him and I had no idea. I wouldn’t have suspected that in a million years. He was a great teammate. He worked hard. He was upbeat no matter what. It’s unbelievable.”

Choice took the time to read the entire affidavit of Hurd’s case online and saw that the feds were investigating Hurd since July.  

“It’s crazy,” he said. “It’s just terrible to hear.”

RB Choice could see time today

Tashard Choice may have only practiced twice since being signed by the Bills on Wednesday, but his retention of Buffalo’s offensive system will give him a very good chance of getting on the field today against the Jets.

“He retained a lot,” said head coach Chan Gailey.

Gailey, who coached Choice for his last three seasons of college at Georgia Tech, has a lot of the same terminology for his offense with the Bills that he had at Georgia Tech.

“He’s a smart kid,” said Gailey. “He’s quick, strong and aggressive. He’s a very good pass protector, he can catch the ball out of the backfield. He plays bigger than you think. He’s not tall, but he’s 211 pounds and he’s very strong.”

Don’t be shocked if Choice serves as a third-down back in passing situations against the Jets.

Choice sees familiar faces

Newly signed RB Tashard Choice practiced Thursday and was glad to see some familiar faces.

“It’s good to be here,” he said. “There are a lot of good coaches here…the ones I knew from Georgia Tech and also players that I know on this team. I know Sam Young, Scott Chandler, CJ (Spiller) and a couple of other guys because I played against them in college.”

Choice also is familiar with some of the offensive scheme.

“Oh, yeah, it does make it easier. You pick up things quickly…you remember everything you did before. So it’s not that difficult to know the plays and know what’s going on. So it was actually a really smooth day…really smooth.”

Knowing there’s a chance he could be in the Bills game day lineup soon Choice is anxious to get up to speed completely.

“My thoughts are just to get rolling. It’s been more difficult this season than I thought so I’m just really ready to get the opportunity and to get my chance and do the best I can.”

Tashard Choice’s Buffalo connection

Not only does Tashard Choice have a connection with Buffalo already having played for head coach Chan Gailey in college. A former relative of his played running back for the Bills.

Choice’s cousin Joe Burns, was a reserve running back for Buffalo from 2002-2006 serving mostly on special teams. Burns also played his college ball at Georgia Tech. Burns appeared in 58 games for the Bills and had 64 carries for 193 yards. His only touchdown for Buffalo came on a 19-yard reception.

Report: Bills claim RB Choice

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter the Bills have claimed RB Tashard Choice off waivers from Washington.