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.

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.

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).

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.

“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.”

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

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

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

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.

“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.”

“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.

“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.”

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.