National media rips into Bills for not retaining Gillislee, Hogan
The Buffalo Bills have somehow become the butt of the joke in a game they're not even playing in.
A pair of former Bills, Mike Gillislee and Chris Hogan, made major contributions for the New England Patriots during the first half of Thursday's opener against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Gillislee was the star of the show, rushing for 42 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries, engineering the Patriots' multifaceted offense. The Bills elected to let Gillislee walk when they declined to match a two-year, $6.4 million offer sheet from the Patriots, instead receiving a fifth-round pick in compensation.
Hogan signed a three-year, $12 million offer sheet with the Patriots in March 2016, and the Bills also elected to decline. The 29-year-old subsequently submitted the best season of his career, helping the Patriots win Super Bowl LI last year.
The national media quickly took notice of the Bills' apparent blunders.
Bills: "We can't match Gillislee.. it doesn't make financial sense"
— Michael Silver (@MikeSilver) September 8, 2017
Patriots: "He's good; we'll pay"
McDermott was already calling the shots when they decided not to match the Gillislee offer https://t.co/6WIWwTRAzx
— Michael Silver (@MikeSilver) September 8, 2017
Today of all days is when the #Bills gave another 2.5 million added to RB LeSean McCoy's contract. But couldn't pay Gillislee?
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) September 8, 2017
I'll take a wild stab and assume Twitter is blowing up right now with Bills fans moaning about Gillislee. Carry on.
— Bucky Gleason (@ByBuckyGleason) September 8, 2017
Reminder that the Patriots only got Gillislee because the Bills are idiots. https://t.co/8f9sO7nbNp pic.twitter.com/uOpv458wCZ
— Sean Wagner-McGough (@seanjwagner) September 8, 2017
Good thing the Bills couldn't use a backup RB like Gillislee.
— Ross Tucker (@RossTuckerNFL) September 8, 2017
In the eyes of many, the Bills are already down one to the Patriots without playing a single snap, in what could be a long season in the AFC East.