–Tight end Charles Clay may have played his last game for the Bills. The veteran, Buffalo’s starter for four years after he signed a bloated free-agent contract in 2015, was a healthy inactive for the first time in his tenure with the Bills last week. Head coach Sean McDermott said after the Bills’ loss to the Patriots, “Yeah, coach’s decision. You only dress 46, so it was my decision.”
When he was probed a little deeper, McDermott explained, “You’re looking at production and looking at young guys. And when you have opportunities, you’ve got to make plays and then looking at some young guys.”
Clay is enduring the worst season of his NFL career as he has just 21 catches for 184 yards and no touchdowns. He has been plagued by drops and long stretches of invisibility. It was thought he could help Josh Allen’s transition to the NFL, but he has done nothing of the kind. Last week, Jason Croom started in Clay’s place and though he lost a fumble inside the Patriots’ 10-yard line, he made four catches for 55 yards.
“I just kind of control what I can and be a good teammate and help these guys out there as much as I can,” said Clay of his benching. “I don’t want to get into any of that. I am going to work like I have been and I continue to do that and keep my head down. I am going to keep working and see what happens.”
BY THE NUMBERS: 536 – Josh Allen’s rushing yardage total this season, which is 44 yards shy of the team record for a quarterback, set by Tyrod Taylor in 2016.
