The push against the tush push is more of a push against pushing.
That’s the message that emerged when Rams coach Sean McVay was pressed on the topic during Tuesday’s pre-draft press conference.
McVay, a member of the Competition Committee, was asked a simple question: Why do you want to ban the tush push?
“I don’t know that it’s exclusively that,” McVay told reporters. “I don’t think the crux of the issue is around pushing other players, but making sure there’s clarity in terms of how it’s going to be officiated. My understanding is it’ll probably be something that’s revisited in May.”
Still, McVay has a broader question regarding how the NFL evolved to the point at which pushing the guy with the ball is standard practice.
“I think one of the things that I would talk about is it was really allowing that play to get in the first place,” McVay said. “I will acknowledge that I don’t believe in being a hater because the Eagles and the Bills do it better than we were capable of. If we executed it at that kind of level, we would probably be doing it as well. I think what it revolves around is saying we’re not in the game or in the business of pushing other people or assisting or helping the runner. We’ve allowed that into the game. When you go back a handful of years, there are some issues and conversations around the field goal block play.”
Pushing was permitted in 2006, as part of a broader change to downfield blocking rules. It took 16 years for teams to realize that pushing the quarterback could be part of the playbook.
So what will happen?
“I do think that where the issue will end up really coming to a head is talking about whether we want to prevent the assistance of pushing the runner,” McVay said. “That could take away some positive plays that we had last year where a guy gets kind of stood up and you’re pushing a pile. There was an example of that against the Jets. Even a screen that we threw to [receiver Puka] Nacua against the Vikings in the playoff game would be one of these. I’ll be interested to see. I would imagine that’s a rule that’s going to be proposed. I think it is also important.
“Everything revolves around health and safety, but also making sure that there’s clarity for the refs to be able to officiate this and then us to ultimately get it communicated to our players in regard to what our expectations are, how it’s being viewed, and what is going to be deemed legal and illegal. It was more the optics of the play that I had a problem with while also acknowledging that if we did it as well as the Eagles, we would probably be activating it a little bit more as well. I’m not afraid to admit that.”
Here’s the basic problem for the league. The genie is out of the bottle, but it’s only granting wishes in two NFL cities. That makes any effort to address the situation feel like sour grapes from those teams that can’t replicate the success of the Eagles and Bills (who run it differently than the Eagles, with the push delayed until quarterback Josh Allen has picked a lane and commenced his sneak).
As previously explained, setting the clock back to 2005 could have unintended consequences when it comes to spotting and enforcing violations that happen well away from where the ball was snapped. The cleanest way to address the potential safety issues from the tush push would be to prevent any pushing within the tackle box and within five yards on either side of the line of scrimmage.
That said, it’s much easier to sell a broader ban on all pushing as something other than a specific effort to target the tush push. Even though it’s exactly what’s happening.
Ultimately, it comes down to whether 24 or more owners will agree to it. And whether and to what extent the league office pushes for it.
Our sense is that the league is absolutely pushing for it — and our guess is that, in the same way the league office recruited the Lions to propose a change to playoff seeding, the league office pushed the Packers to put their name on the proposal that they made in March and that they’re currently reworking for May.
Cornerback Tre’Davious White knew where he wanted to wind up this offseason.
White was a Bills first-round pick in 2017 and spent seven seasons with the club before being released early in 2024. He signed a one-year deal with the Rams, but lost his spot in the defense early in the season and closed out the year with the Ravens after being traded.
That left him in need of a career reboot and he wanted it to take place where his career began. White signed with the Bills this month.
“I told my agent, man, if you can’t get Buffalo on the line, just don’t call. This is the place that I want to be,” White said, via the team’s website.
White made All-Pro teams in 2019 and 2020, but a torn ACL in 2021 and a torn Achilles in 2023 threw him off track. On Tuesday, he said he feels ready to return to form.
“Mentally, physically, I’m great,” White said. “My therapist told me to leave the past in the past, and that’s what I’m gonna do. I’m gonna move forward, because that’s all I can do. But just knowing the position that I’m in now, the only thing I can come in and do the best that I can and showcase my talents to the best of my ability.”
The Bills probably won’t bet too heavily on White getting back to his previous heights, but anything close would be a welcome addition to the secondary in Buffalo.
The Bills returned to work this week, but quarterback Josh Allen said the end to the 2024 season “will still sit with me” as they move toward the fall.
Allen’s final pass of the season couldn’t be handled by tight end Dalton Kincaid and the Bills fell short of the Super Bowl after losing another playoff game to the Chiefs. Changing that outcome this time around will be everyone’s goal in Buffalo and a second-year leap for wide receiver Keon Coleman would help that effort.
Coleman was a second-round pick last year and showed some flashes of big-play ability, but also dealt with injury before ending the season with 29 catches for 556 yards and four touchdowns. He had three more catches in the postseason, but the overall production wasn’t where the Bills will need it to be in the future. On Tuesday, Allen said boosting that output is a focus of their offseason efforts.
“We’ve had a couple of conversations and he knows that he wants to be better,” Allen said, via WGR 550. “He sent me a couple of long texts of wanting to be better and we’re going to continue to work extremely hard to try to get on the same page. He’s got so much ability, he’s so athletic, he’s already put on some weight and he’s gotten a little bit stronger, so I’m excited to see his progression and he’s still so young, so he’s still got a long ways to go in terms of learning the nuances of the wide receiver position, so I’m so excited for his future because of the ability that he has, it’s off the charts.”
The Bills signed Joshua Palmer as a free agent and they could add more options in the draft this week, but Coleman’s experience with Allen and the offense might make him the best bet to boost the unit to another level in 2025.
Bills running back James Cook has made no secret about his desire for a new contract and his approach to the team’s offseason program may be part of his push to land one.
General Manager Brandon Beane told reporters in Buffalo that Cook did not join the team for the first day of their workouts. The workouts are voluntary, so Cook is under no obligation to attend and Beane said he does not know if the running back plans to report at any point.
Beane also said that Cook has not communicated to the team that his absence is due to his contract.
Cook suggested in March that he’s looking for $15 million a year in his next contract, but Beane said later in the month that he doesn’t see an extension coming in the near future. Cook subsequently put his Buffalo house on the market and the ongoing impasse makes it hard to view Cook’s decision without the contractual lens.
The Bills have won the AFC East the past five seasons. The last time the Bills didn’t win it, the Patriots did.
Defensive tackle Milton Williams now plays for the Patriots, having signed in free agency.
He can’t wait to face Josh Allen, the reigning MVP, after the only missed game of his career game in 2023 in a game against the Bills.
“I ended up missing that game against Josh Allen,” Williams said on the Green Light with Chris Long podcast. “So, I haven’t got to play him yet. Since I got here just talking with [Christian] Barmore, he was like, ‘Yeah, Josh Allen is probably the hardest quarterback I’ve had to bring down.’ Just big, fast, he kind of reminds me of Cam Newton. I compare him to Cam Newton, just being that big, being that mobile, having such a big arm, make any throw. It’s going to be a challenge, but I’m up for it. I’m up for it for sure.”
The Bills and Patriots play twice a year, so Williams will see a lot of Allen, and Allen will see a lot of Williams, who signed a four-year, $104 million deal. The Patriots also have added cornerback Carlton Davis, linebacker Robert Spillane and pass rusher Harold Landry this offseason in seeking to improve a defense that ranked 22nd in the NFL last season.
The Bills have agreed to a one-year deal worth up to $6.8 million with cornerback Tre’Davious White, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.
White returns to the team that made him a first-round pick in 2017.
The Bills cut him before the start of the 2024 offseason in a cost-cutting move, and White signed with the Rams. Los Angeles traded White to the Ravens on Nov. 5.
In 11 games last season, White totaled 22 tackles and five pass breakups.
He made two Pro Bowls in his seven seasons with Buffalo, recording 311 tackles, 18 interceptions and 68 pass breakups.
The Bills made two roster moves Thursday ahead of next week’s NFL draft.
The team announced it has released defensive tackle Branson Deen and waived tight end Armani Rogers with a non-football injury.
Deen, 25, spent part of last season with the team and played one game. He played nine defensive snaps and six on special teams in a Week 5 game against the Texans in his only career action.
The Bills signed him to a futures contract after the season.
Rogers, 27, also signed a futures contract with the Bills after spending time with the Commanders, Eagles and Falcons in 2024. He has not played a game since 2022 when he appeared in 11 games with three starts for Washington, seeing action on 158 offensive snaps and 217 on special teams.
Rogers has seven touches for 90 yards in his career.
Wade Phillips, a three-time former NFL head coach, has taken a leave of absence from his current position as head coach of the UFL’s San Antonio Brahmas.
The UFL announced on Wednesday that Phillips will step aside for personal reasons.
Offensive coordinator Payton Pardee will serve as the interim head coach for the balance of the 2025 season.
“The UFL is extremely grateful for the leadership that Wade has delivered to the UFL as head coach of the San Antonio Brahmas,” UFL president and CEO Russ Brandon and UFL executive V.P. of football operations Daryl Johnston said in a statement. “The credibility that he has brought to the UFL as a Head Coach validates what we are building as a league. This coaching legend has the respect of everyone in the league as well as throughout the entire football community for his dedication and accomplishments as a coach for over 50 years. If and when Wade is ready to return to the sidelines, the entire UFL Family will be there to cheer him on.”
Phillips coached the Houston Roughnecks of the XFL in 2023. When the XFL merged with the USFL in 2024, Phillips became head coach of the Brahmas. He led San Antonio to last year’s UFL championship.
Phillips’s coaching career began in 1969, as a graduate assistant at the University of Houston. He joined his father, Bum, in 1976 as defensive line coach of the Houston Oilers.
In 1981, he followed his father to the Saints, where he spent five seasons as defensive coordinator.
He has served as head coach of the Broncos, Bills, and Cowboys. He also worked as an interim head coach with the Saints and Falcons. After his NFL career concluded in 2019 as defensive coordinator of the Rams, he was out of football until the XFL came calling.
Veteran cornerback James Bradberry is in Buffalo on Wednesday.
Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reports that Bradberry is paying a visit to the Bills facility as he looks for a place to play in 2025. Bradberry was released by the Eagles earlier this year.
Bradberry missed the entire 2024 season after tearing his Achilles last summer. He started 37 games over his first two seasons in Philly and was named a second-team All-Pro after the 2022 campaign.
Bradberry played two years for the Giants before moving on to Philadelphia and he opened his career as a 2016 second-round pick in Carolina. Bills head coach Sean McDermott and General Manager Brandon Beane were both in the Panthers organization at the time.
Bradberry has played in 125 regular season games across all three stops and has 478 tackles, 19 interceptions, three sacks, four forced fumbles, and four fumble recoveries for his career.
The NFL’s young quarterbacks aren’t so young anymore.
Baker Mayfield, the first overall pick in the 2018 draft, turns 30 today. (Happy birthday.) Others aren’t far behind.
Within the next 21 months, the top four quarterbacks in the NFL will exit their twenties. First up is Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, on September 17. Next will be Bills quarterback Josh Allen, on May 21 of next year.
Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow gets there next, on December 10, 1996. Less than a month later, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson arrives in Club 30.
All five are in their prime. All five will keep achieving at a high level. Four of them are chasing their first Super Bowl win.
And while Mayfield isn’t in the same category as the other four, he’s closer than most realize. And the Buccaneers are quietly loaded for another potential division title — and maybe plenty more.
