57 days. That's how long we have to wait until July 26, when the Buffalo Bills will open up training camp at St. John Fisher College in preparation for the 2012 NFL regular season.

The Bills announced that camp will begin at 3:00 in the afternoon on Thursday, July 26 at CEO Russ Brandon's alma mater in Pittsford, New York, their thirteenth straight year of holding training camp at that location. Also disclosed: the team will hold four night practices, and 15 total practices will be open to the public. Click the link for full date and time details, while noting that they are subject to change (usually due to weather circumstances).

MRW and I like to make it out for as many public practices as we can (MRW has better luck, given that he's literally a bike ride away from Growney Stadium), and that will be the plan once again. We'll ask again as camp draws closer, but we'll ask now, too: will we be seeing any of you out at Fisher this summer?

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We don't often run "Caption This" posts here at Buffalo Rumblings - even though they're a staple of Internet communities everywhere - but this photo of Ryan Fitzpatrick and Vince Young from day one of the Buffalo Bills OTAs is just too good to pass up. Run with it, folks.

Buffalo Rumblings is in the process of breaking down the Buffalo Bills' roster position by position. Installments you may have missed: WR, TE, OT, G/C, DE, DT, LB, CB, S.

Little has changed personnel-wise for the Buffalo Bills since the end of the 2011 season, but that doesn't mean change hasn't happened. For starters, Fred Jackson is healthy again, and he's also signed what amounts to a three-year contract extension that finally, mercifully, pays him as if he's been a star with the franchise for a number of years now.

Between Jackson and third-year pro C.J. Spiller, the Bills have a running back tandem that combined for 1,495 rushing yards (at 5.4 yards per carry), 78 receptions (for 711 yards) and 12 touchdowns last season - and that's without the two of them ever really clicking as a tandem, instead producing predominantly when each was the feature back. If Chan Gailey can figure out how to productively use these guys simultaneously, watch out.

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On Tuesday, Buffalo Bills defensive end Shawne Merriman was one of just two players not present at One Bills Drive for the start of the team's voluntary OTAs. That's because, as head coach Chan Gailey would later explain, Merriman was visiting with his doctor to get final medical clearance to participate.

As it turns out, Merriman got that clearance, and tweeted about it late Tuesday afternoon. It's looking like he'll be on the field when the team returns to the practice field on Thursday.

Merriman is coming off of in-season Achilles surgery that landed him on Injured Reserve last October, limiting his season to just five games. That means that he's appeared in five of a possible 24 games since joining the Bills as a waiver wire addition in the middle of the 2010 season. He's been the subject of rave reviews regarding his health this off-season, and his return to the field in May is a step in the right direction.

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On day one of Buffalo Bills OTAs, head coach Chan Gailey told reporters that he doesn't expect wide receiver Stevie Johnson to participate in team activities until training camp in July.

Johnson, who was banged up for the majority of the 2011 season, is now a bit more than a month removed from off-season groin surgery. It's not rehabilitation from that procedure that's currently holding him back, however - it's lingering pain in his hamstring. All signs, however, point to Johnson being fully healthy when the pads go on at St. John Fisher.

With Johnson on the sidelines, the door is now open for the team's other outside receiving options - all vying for a starting job - to get some serious reps with quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and the first-team offense. Yesterday, veterans Donald Jones and Derek Hagan were working with the first unit.

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All but two of the 90 players currently with the Buffalo Bills were present and accounted for as the team convened for the start of its voluntary Organized Team Activities on Tuesday. Joe Buscaglia of WGR 550 reports that the only two players not in the building were rookie safety Delano Howell - who is completing college course work at Stanford - and veteran pass rusher Shawne Merriman, who is currently seeking clearance from his doctor to participate, according to head coach Chan Gailey.

The team and several reporters were tweeting live from the first practice this afternoon; the notes that follow are an amalgamation of tweets from @BuffaloBills (the team's official Twitter feed), @JoeB_WGR (Buscaglia), @gggaughan (Mark Gaughan of The Buffalo News) and @ChrisBrownBills (Chris Brown, the Bills' lead journalist).

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Buffalo Rumblings is in the process of breaking down the Buffalo Bills' roster position by position. Installments you may have missed: WR, TE, OT, G/C, DE, DT, LB, CB.

In 2011, the Buffalo Bills' safety duo of Jairus Byrd and George Wilson combined for 204 tackles, a sack, seven interceptions, five forced fumbles and a touchdown. (And when Wilson was hurt, then-rookie Da'Norris Searcy contributed with 34 tackles and an interception of his own.)

Yet somehow, despite solid production on an otherwise bad defense, much of the discussion in the build-up to the 2012 NFL Draft was on Alabama safety Mark Barron, a player that the Bills were reportedly very high on and considering with the No. 10 overall pick. As fate would have it, Barron was off the board when Buffalo chose, and the team appears to be rock solid at safety - at least for this season, anyway.

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The Buffalo Bills begin their voluntary organized team activities (OTAs) today, and while attendance for the workouts won't be known until later in the day, we already know of at least eight non-participants thanks to Chris Brown of BuffaloBills.com.

One rookie - undrafted free agent safety Delano Howell - will not be in attendance, as he's still finishing up college courses at Stanford. It's the same reason that quarterback Andrew Luck will have to miss time with the Indianapolis Colts this spring.

Meanwhile, and perhaps more importantly, seven veteran players will not be practicing as they continue to rehab coming off of surgeries to correct old injuries. Those players: tight end Mike Caussin, center Eric Wood, defensive end Shawne Merriman, defensive tackles Kyle Williams and Torell Troup, linebacker Chris White and cornerback Terrence McGee.

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Buffalo Bills GM Buddy Nix and head coach Chan Gailey have made it clear this off-season that their goal with the team is to create competition for as many roster spots as possible. Our (first) question for you on this fine national holiday: how many of the team's new faces that, as of today, have a legitimate crack at a starting job will actually wind up as starters for the team next season?

We count five new players that have a very good chance at landing a starting job this summer (in no particular order): wide receiver T.J. Graham, left tackle Cordy Glenn, defensive ends Mario Williams and Mark Anderson, and cornerback Stephon Gilmore. This should not be particularly surprising to anyone, as we're talking about the team's two prize free agent acquisitions and its top three draft picks, after all.

Most of these players will face direct competition for their jobs, with the only exception being Williams - he's the highest-paid defender in NFL history, so he's a shoo-in to start. How many of these five players do you foresee being opening-day starters, Bills fans?

It has been a wild, productive, exciting and overall very successful off-season for the Buffalo Bills. The team's various personnel decisions and acquisitions this spring have undoubtedly led to increased expectations for the team, and with that, the pressure on third-year head coach Chan Gailey is rising.

There has been a sense throughout the first two years of Gailey's tenure that the team is "headed in the right direction," which we hear far more often now than we did this time last year. Yet the Bills are just 10-22 under Gailey (and GM Buddy Nix), and have eight- and seven-game losing streaks on his watch.

Our question for you on this lovely (in Western New York) Saturday: what is the single biggest hurdle standing between Gailey and the Bills having a winning record, or (dare we dream) achieving a playoff berth? Despite everything that's gone in this spring, there are still a lot of question marks - and we're curious to know which question mark you believe is the biggest entering the new season.

On Thursday, BuffaloBills.com ran an article about the work that quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick is putting in with new quarterbacks coach David Lee to improve his mechanics. It's an interesting read with good thoughts from the player and the tutor. It also caused a reader to run the following by me last evening (posted here with permission, but anonymously):

"Hey Bri - curious to know your opinion on the Fitz article, and especially if you think that mechanics are his biggest issue right now," submits the reader. "I just think Gailey needs to make him throw less, and they'll start winning more. Maybe that happens if the D steps up."

To my eye, mechanics are a factor in one of two major issues facing Fitzpatrick: consistency. We've talked about Fitzpatrick being the quarterbacking equivalent of a streak shooter in basketball before: he can get really hot, but he can also go stone cold for stretches. If improved mechanics help beget improved consistency, that's a big step in the right direction.

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Buffalo Rumblings is in the process of breaking down the Buffalo Bills' roster position by position. Installments you may have missed: WR, OT, G/C, DE, DT, LB, CB.

The big question at tight end for the Buffalo Bills entering the off-season was whether or not the team would be able to re-sign impending free agent Scott Chandler, as GM Buddy Nix indicated in early January that Chandler's asking price may have been a bit too lofty. In the end, however, the Bills and Chandler agreed to a modest two-year deal that brings stability to the position.

Beyond that - as well as the signing of a high-upside tryout player - nothing has changed for the Bills at the position. That's not necessarily a bad thing, either.

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Earlier this week, when we were talking about exactly why the Buffalo Bills were interested in a speed receiver like T.J. Graham, we also talked about how Graham would fit in with the team's top five offensive weapons. Those players, of course, are running backs Fred Jackson and C.J. Spiller, wide receivers Stevie Johnson and David Nelson, and tight end Scott Chandler.

An interesting byproduct of that discussion was an off-blog conversation I had with a friend, who spent his time arguing that Johnson and Jackson were "by far" the team's top two players at the position, and that the rest were just "bit" players.

I disagreed. They're clearly the most proven and most consistent of the bunch, but just saying that doesn't capture the reality of the offense.

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When it comes to discussing the wide receiver position in these parts - particularly of late - we're often focusing the discourse on who the "No. 2 receiver" will be for the Buffalo Bills next season.

The problem with that, as many astute readers have pointed out, is that we already know who the Bills' No. 2 receiver is. It's David Nelson, who finished a clear second on the team in catches (61) and yards (658) last year while operating almost exclusively out of the slot.

"No. 2 receiver" is now a misnomer in the NFL, where spread sets and a focus on matchups dominate offensive game planning. I'm therefore often asked to more accurately portray the Bills' receiving corps; let's do that today, shall we? It's time to trash the number system in favor of letters (X, Y and Z) and position-specific terms.

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Buffalo Rumblings is in the process of breaking down the Buffalo Bills' roster position by position. Installments you may have missed: WR, OT, G/C, DE, LB, CB.

There's one position on the new 4-3 defense being installed by Dave Wannstedt that did not have the benefit of a single new face this off-season, and that's defensive tackle. The reason? As the team transitions to the new scheme, 3-4 defensive ends are becoming tackles, and the team still has young players with upside behind starters Marcell Dareus and Kyle Williams. (And the list could grow, as well, if the team comes to its senses about the abilities of players like Spencer Johnson and Lionel Dotson.)

That may, however, end up being a problem for the team, as Williams is returning from injury, as is a key young reserve - and many of the depth players have serious question marks. Marcell? Kyle? Stay in shape and very healthy, friends.

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On Tuesday, the NFL approved a new rule in which one "marquee" player can return to the active roster from IR per season. Naturally, the move has been generally applauded by football fans that have grown tired of seeing their favorite players get hurt early in the season and miss an entire year.

Our question, however, is this: would the new rule have been applicable for Buffalo Bills running back Fred Jackson last season? The answer is not immediately obvious.

The Associated Press report on the new rule reads as follows: "The owners also voted... to allow one 'marquee' player placed on injured reserve to return to practice after the sixth week of the schedule and to the lineup after the eighth week. That player must be on the 53-man roster after the final preseason cut."

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Buffalo Rumblings is in the process of breaking down the Buffalo Bills' roster position by position. Installments you may have missed: WR, OT, DE, LB, CB.

Heading into the 2012 regular season, the Buffalo Bills appear to have solid depth on the interior offensive line, where they have four capable and experienced players and a handful of interesting developmental-type guys. They're in a good position for this year.

Next year, however, is where it could get hairy. Three of the aforementioned group of four players - Andy Levitre, Kraig Urbik and Chad Rinehart - are all scheduled for free agency next year. That's a situation worth monitoring for two reasons: it only adds to the competition already inherent to the position, and it makes the race for the depth spots inside even more intriguing.

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While we're on the topic of frequently asked questions this morning, one popular query posed to me has been in the vein of the following: why did the Buffalo Bills target a receiver with vertical speed (i.e. T.J. Graham) in the 2012 NFL Draft, sacrificing size to do so?

The short answer is that Chan Gailey asked for that type of player. The longer answer doesn't require a lot of deep analysis, either: Gailey asked for that type of player because his core group of offensive weapons, while highly productive, lacks that deep speed element.

No NFL offense can have more than five skill players on the field at one time, and Buffalo just so happens to have five such players that have proven themselves capable of being productive on the roster: running backs Fred Jackson and C.J. Spiller, receivers Stevie Johnson and David Nelson, and tight end Scott Chandler.

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The Buffalo Bills have had an exciting and productive off-season. They re-signed the vast majority of their impending free agents, made Mario Williams one of two prize free agent additions, and had what was, by most accounts, a solid 2012 NFL Draft weekend.

One of the many questions posed most frequently to me is how the team's off-season has adjusted expectations. The Bills may very well be off-season champions, but we're still talking about a team that has gone a combined 10-22 in the last two seasons, and that has picked in the Top 10 for three straight years.

My response, of course, has consistently been that expectations have changed dramatically. But is that really true? While the specifics (like the big-name signings and the gobs of money being thrown around) are decidedly different, we may have been down this road before.

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Buffalo Rumblings is in the process of breaking down the Buffalo Bills' roster position by position. Installments you may have missed: WR, OT, DE, CB.

Not much has changed near the top of the Buffalo Bills' linebacker depth chart this off-season, which makes the position positively boring when considering the sweeping changes made in other spots (like defensive end). The Bills made a series of moves here, however, that are worth noting.

Noteworthy fact No. 1: three of the four linebackers expected to have significant roles at the outset of the 2012 season are at least 30 years old. That's a potential concern, even though those players are still (at least) fairly productive. Behind those veterans are a slew of young guys vying for roster spots as the Bills transition to a 4-3 defense.

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In a new-look NFL with a rookie wage scale, draft picks are signing at a furious and record-setting pace. One oddity to the madness, however, is perfectly exemplified by the Buffalo Bills: they've got all of their choices under contract, save for third-round pick T.J. Graham.

Why would the third-round pick be the most difficult to agree to terms with? It's a strange thing to ponder, but ESPNBoston.com's Mike Reiss may have provided the answer last week.

"Talked to one agent who said negotiations with prospects drafted in the third round have been more challenging than the first round," Reiss wrote in a May 13 column. "The reason, according to the agent, is that first and second-rounders receive their full slot allocation, while fourth- to seventh-rounders don’t. That puts the third-rounders right in the middle."

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In his two years on the job as GM of the Buffalo Bills, Buddy Nix has earned a reputation in this fan base as a talent evaluator capable of finding capable starters from the pile of low-end veteran players left on the proverbial scrap heap.

And it's true: three of the team's prominent offensive starters (tight end Scott Chandler, right guard Kraig Urbik and right tackle Erik Pears) epitomize the trend. Chandler was signed after the Dallas Cowboys cut him. Urbik was a waiver-wire claim from the Pittsburgh Steelers, and Pears was a street free agent that had previously spent time with the Denver Broncos, Oakland Raiders and Jacksonville Jaguars. There are more examples, too.

This year, Nix again has veteran players in positions on the roster that, if competitions fall their way, could emerge as productive players for the team. (That's not to say that any of them have to, or are capable of, continuing the trend, of course.) Which of these players do you have your eye on? We've got three candidates for you after the jump.

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A little more than a day after they signed top pick Stephon Gilmore to a fully guaranteed four-year, $12.1 million contract, the Buffalo Bills have just announced that second-round pick Cordy Glenn has signed his rookie contract, as well.

The No. 41 overall pick in last year's draft, Redskins defensive lineman Jarvis Jenkins, signed a four-year deal worth $4.78 million with a signing bonus just under $2 million. Expect Glenn's deal to look remarkably similar to that contract, just as Gilmore's deal was a near-exact replica of the one Blaine Gabbert signed last year.

The 6'5", 343-pound Glenn was a four-year starter in the SEC at Georgia, and spent his senior season transitioning to left tackle, where he will play in Buffalo. Though some scouts expressed concern that Glenn has the required athleticism for the blind side, the Bills plan on letting him battle for the starting job there this summer.

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Buffalo Rumblings is in the process of breaking down the Buffalo Bills' roster position by position. Installments you may have missed: OT, DE, CB.

When we examined the state of the Buffalo Bills' wide receiver position on January 10, we were looking at a list of 11 players that included four impending unrestricted free agents that lacked a legitimate bookend to one of those free agents, top target Stevie Johnson. I remarked at the time that the position held the most off-season intrigue for the team, and noted that the potential for change was enormous.

Today, the list is largely the same, as the team re-signed three of the four free agents - losing only Roscoe Parrish, who was replaced on the list by third-round pick T.J. Graham, who has since taken Parrish's No. 11 jersey. In short, not a lot has changed here, and the team is still waiting for Johnson's complement to emerge.

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Way back in March, we ran a poll asking which Buffalo Bills wide receiver had the "inside track" at the No. 2 (read: outside, edge, Z, flanker, etc.) wide receiver position. Overwhelmingly, third-year pro Marcus Easley - who has never played a regular season down in the NFL - ran away with the poll.

The bulk of the ensuing discussion, however, discussed who fans thought the team should take in the 2012 NFL Draft to add to the competition. T.J. Graham was not mentioned at all in that discussion, but he ended up being the guy that the Bills took to add to the competition anyway, so we're here today to re-run the poll.

Easley and fellow third-year pro Donald Jones were the two primary vote-getters the last time we did this, so we'll pit those two against Graham, with a write-in option for anyone looking outside the group. Our question again, however (which you'll answer after the jump): which of these receivers should get the first crack at winning a starting job?

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Last year, after the 2011 NFL Draft, I published a post in which I opined about the ten players age 25 or below that I thought were the best prospects on the Buffalo Bills' roster at the time. A year later, it's time to re-visit that list and update it.

Naturally, with a year gone by, we'll have to say goodbye (thankfully just from this list, of course) to the likes of Stevie Johnson, Eric Wood, Jairus Byrd and Andy Levitre, who will all turn 26 this calendar year. That opens up a significant amount of real estate for other sub-25 players to come in, and despite "losing" a lot of talent from this list, there's still quite the group of talent to pick from. Or, rather there are a lot of similarly skilled players to pick from, which in itself is an improvement from yesteryear.

The full list is after the jump, and the comments section is all yours to debate the slotting and who might be missing.

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The Buffalo Bills have announced this Thursday morning that they have signed their first-round pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, cornerback Stephon Gilmore, to his rookie contract. It will be a fully-guaranteed, four-year contract, and should be worth a little more than $12 million - which is what last year's No. 10 pick, Blaine Gabbert, signed for.

Gilmore, 21, is the second Top 10 pick from April's draft to sign, following No. 9 pick Luke Kuechly. Gilmore is coming off of a strong weekend in his first official action with the Bills at the team's rookie mini-camp, where he made several interceptions working exclusively at right cornerback. The 6'0", 190-pound defensive back is fully expected to start as a rookie.

With this signing official, the Bills have just two remaining unsigned draft picks - second-round left tackle Cordy Glenn and third-round wide receiver T.J. Graham. Both of those players participated in last weekend's rookie mini-camp, as well. Who doesn't love the new rookie salary slotting system in the new CBA?