Bills head coach Sean McDermott chose to open his press conference by addressing the reports of trade talks between the Bills and the Eagles regarding feature back LeSean McCoy.
"LeSean is one of our better players. He had a good game the other day. We're looking forward to playing the Houston Texans," McDermott said. "We get incoming calls all the time. Brandon (Beane) and I talk a lot and I won't go into any more detail than that."
When asked directly if McCoy is available for trade, McDermott said the following.
"I'm not going into that. He's a valuable member of our football team and I'm going to leave it at that."
McDermott did agree that with the league's trade deadline coming up in a couple of weeks that calls from other NFL clubs typically increase.
"It does," he said. "I'm not the one fielding most of those calls because that falls under Brandon's job description. So I would imagine they do."
Buffalo's sideline boss said he has not discussed the reports of trade talks with McCoy personally.
"I believe in communicating with our players. LeSean and I have not communicated on this front," said McDermott. "In my opinion we're on to the Houston Texans and players know that if there is something that needs to be communicated that it will be communicated. I have a hell of a lot of respect for him and I think he does for me. Again, the biggest opponent in front of us right now is Houston."
The NFL's trade deadline is 4 pm on October 30th.
Derek Anderson's role with Bills
The signing of Derek Anderson took place on Tuesday, as the club was able to recruit the veteran signal caller off the couch to resume his NFL career. Anderson has not been in the daily football grind for about 10 months. But his value as a veteran presence in Buffalo's quarterback room is unmistakable as far as McDermott is concerned.
"That's part of why we did what we did," he said. "Having been around Derek in Carolina, I really liked his personality and the way he helped the football team. Primarily his role down there was serving as a backup. How he helped Cam (Newton) on and off the field there and just a smart football player who has seen a lot of NFL football over the years. He brings quite a bit to the table as far as that goes."
McDermott admits that Anderson has a lot of catching up to do, with the offensive scheme and the offensive players around him.
"He's got work to do," said McDermott. "Yes, his primary role at this point is to add his wisdom in on and off hours and share his perspective on things with some young quarterbacks in Nate (Peterman) and Josh (Allen).
"If you're able to sit next to someone who has been there and done that before, there's a lot of value in that, in particular when they've had the success that Derek has. He's good to have with us. We're happy to have him."
McDermott also made it clear that he's comfortable carrying three quarterbacks on the roster. It's evident that Anderson is here to aid in not only Allen's development, but Peterman's as well.
Peterman also will remain the number two quarterback this week against Houston.
"This doesn't change Nate's status on our football team," McDermott said.
Bush and Hyde update
Bills safeties Rafael Bush and Micah Hyde were both unable to play in last Sunday's game against the Tennessee Titans. Practice squad call-up Dean Marlowe was pressed into action and performed well. But he was moved off the roster to make room for the signing of Derek Anderson.
So is that an indication that they expect to have either Bush or Hyde back in the lineup?
"They've both made progress," said McDermott of his two veteran safeties. "Both will be out there and limited today. We'll just see how they do here."
Bush was wearing a red non-contact jersey at practice Wednesday. Hyde was not wearing a red jersey. With Wednesday being their first day on the practice field since their Week 4 injuries, how they feel on Thursday will go a long way in determining the likelihood of either of them being available for Sunday's game at Houston.
