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An Army of One
Bills' Mularkey wants disgruntled RB Henry to report
March 24, 2005 3:45PM
Buffalo Bills coach Mike Mularkey expects disgruntled running back Travis Henry to report for training camp if the team fails to meet his trade demand.
Henry, who has one year left on his contract, said this week he intends to sit out until the Bills trade him. The former starter is not willing to return to Buffalo after losing his job to Willis McGahee last season.
"I know he's frustrated," Mularkey told reporters during the NFL owners meetings in Hawaii this week. "We have done everything we can to really honor his request for a trade. ... If it doesn't happen, Travis has a contract with us and is required to be here when camps come around. But I think there's still time."
Henry said he is particularly frustrated that the Bills rejected Arizona's offer to acquire him in a deal that would send starting tackle L.J. Shelton to Buffalo. But Mularkey said the team would have to get more than Shelton to make the deal worthwhile.
Henry's agent, Hadley Engelhard, maintains that a deal for Shelton is a fair one, considering the Bills are in need of a starting tackle after losing Jonas Jennings, a free agent who signed with San Francisco earlier this month.
Engelhard noted that Shelton has 77 career starts, 25 more than Jennings, and that he comes relatively cheap, having four years left on a contract that is to pay him $3 million a season.
Without revealing his next step, Engelhard said: "You can quote me on this. As time goes on, it's only going to get uglier."
With or without Henry, Mularkey said he's comfortable with his offensive backfield which, after McGahee, is currently rounded out with Shaud Williams, who appeared in four games last year, recently re-signed backup Joe Burns and Dante Brown, whom the Bills signed to their practice squad late last season.
Mularkey suggested that he might address his offensive line needs from within. He has already discussed with center Trey Teague the possibility of switching him to left tackle -- a position Teague played at Denver before signing with Buffalo in 2002.
Another candidate at left tackle is Mike Gandy, a veteran free agent the Bills signed earlier this month.
Mularkey doesn't consider shifting right tackle Mike Williams to the left side as a permanent option. The No. 4 overall pick in the 2002 draft, Williams has started 42 games on the right side for Buffalo.
"I think his forte is right tackle," Mularkey said. "I'd like to see him continue on like he did last year when he finished strong."
Mularkey also defended his decision to promote J.P. Losman to starter last month, a move that led to the team releasing veteran quarterback Drew Bledsoe, who has since signed with Dallas.
Losman is the second of Buffalo's two first-round draft picks in 2004, and was limited to four mop-up appearances after missing the first half of last season with a broken left leg.
Mularkey is impressed by how determined Losman has been, spending the last two months at the team's headquarters working out, studying his position and learning the Bills playbook.
"He's in there on his own, which to me speaks volumes of his desire," Mularkey said. "Whether he gets it done or not, I know at least that he's going to try. I think by the time camp comes around, you'll see teammates that were maybe on the fence one way or the other come around and will have open arms toward him."
Copyright 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/football/nfl/03/24/bc.fbn.bills.mularkeybj.ap/index.html
March 24, 2005 3:45PM
Buffalo Bills coach Mike Mularkey expects disgruntled running back Travis Henry to report for training camp if the team fails to meet his trade demand.
Henry, who has one year left on his contract, said this week he intends to sit out until the Bills trade him. The former starter is not willing to return to Buffalo after losing his job to Willis McGahee last season.
"I know he's frustrated," Mularkey told reporters during the NFL owners meetings in Hawaii this week. "We have done everything we can to really honor his request for a trade. ... If it doesn't happen, Travis has a contract with us and is required to be here when camps come around. But I think there's still time."
Henry said he is particularly frustrated that the Bills rejected Arizona's offer to acquire him in a deal that would send starting tackle L.J. Shelton to Buffalo. But Mularkey said the team would have to get more than Shelton to make the deal worthwhile.
Henry's agent, Hadley Engelhard, maintains that a deal for Shelton is a fair one, considering the Bills are in need of a starting tackle after losing Jonas Jennings, a free agent who signed with San Francisco earlier this month.
Engelhard noted that Shelton has 77 career starts, 25 more than Jennings, and that he comes relatively cheap, having four years left on a contract that is to pay him $3 million a season.
Without revealing his next step, Engelhard said: "You can quote me on this. As time goes on, it's only going to get uglier."
With or without Henry, Mularkey said he's comfortable with his offensive backfield which, after McGahee, is currently rounded out with Shaud Williams, who appeared in four games last year, recently re-signed backup Joe Burns and Dante Brown, whom the Bills signed to their practice squad late last season.
Mularkey suggested that he might address his offensive line needs from within. He has already discussed with center Trey Teague the possibility of switching him to left tackle -- a position Teague played at Denver before signing with Buffalo in 2002.
Another candidate at left tackle is Mike Gandy, a veteran free agent the Bills signed earlier this month.
Mularkey doesn't consider shifting right tackle Mike Williams to the left side as a permanent option. The No. 4 overall pick in the 2002 draft, Williams has started 42 games on the right side for Buffalo.
"I think his forte is right tackle," Mularkey said. "I'd like to see him continue on like he did last year when he finished strong."
Mularkey also defended his decision to promote J.P. Losman to starter last month, a move that led to the team releasing veteran quarterback Drew Bledsoe, who has since signed with Dallas.
Losman is the second of Buffalo's two first-round draft picks in 2004, and was limited to four mop-up appearances after missing the first half of last season with a broken left leg.
Mularkey is impressed by how determined Losman has been, spending the last two months at the team's headquarters working out, studying his position and learning the Bills playbook.
"He's in there on his own, which to me speaks volumes of his desire," Mularkey said. "Whether he gets it done or not, I know at least that he's going to try. I think by the time camp comes around, you'll see teammates that were maybe on the fence one way or the other come around and will have open arms toward him."
Copyright 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/football/nfl/03/24/bc.fbn.bills.mularkeybj.ap/index.html
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