ORCHARD PARK
Taron Johnson Jerseys 2019 , N.Y. (AP) — Perhaps, the third time in Buffalo will be the charm for receiver Deonte Thompson.The Bills continued shuffling their
roster during their bye week by signing Thompson on Wednesday, a week after the
seventh-year player was released by the Dallas Cowboys.Thompson returns to
Buffalo a year after he had 27 catches for 430 yards and a touchdown in 11
games. He also appeared in one game for the Bills in 2014.With 107 yards
receiving in a 30-27 win over Tampa Bay on Oct. 22, 2017, Thompson was the
previous Bills player to top 100 yards receiving before rookie Robert Foster had
105 in a 41-10 win at the New York Jets on Sunday.Thompson had 14 catches for
124 yards in eight games with Dallas. He became the odd-man out in the Cowboys’
bid to shake up a sputtering passing attack.Thompson fills one of the roster
spots left open after receiver Terrelle Pryor and backup quarterback Nathan
Peterman were released over the past two days.At 3-7, Buffalo is off until
hosting Jacksonville on Nov. 25. FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — Josh McCown is going
from mentor to starter this week for the New York Jets.The 39-year-old
quarterback will be under center Sunday against the Buffalo Bills in place of
injured rookie Sam Darnold, who's sidelined with a strained right foot."I'm
ready to rule him out as a starter for this week," coach Todd Bowles said of
Darnold on Thursday. "I don't know if I'll rule him out yet for the game." That
means Darnold still could potentially be the No. 2 quarterback on Sunday. If
not, Davis Webb would be promoted from the practice squad to serve as McCown's
backup.Either way, the starting job is McCown's — at least for this week."I'm
extremely comfortable with him
White Tre’Davious White Jersey ," Bowles said. "We talk all the time. He understands the game and the team, and we see things the same way. So I'm
comfortable."McCown has not taken a snap in a regular-season game this season as
the Jets have focused on developing Darnold. The No. 3 overall pick won the job
out of training camp, but was injured during New York's 13-6 loss at Miami last
Sunday.McCown was the Jets' starter last season and had a career year before
being sidelined the last three games with a broken left hand. Since the summer,
McCown has spoken highly of Darnold and expressed excitement about being able to
have a hand in the youngster's development.Darnold has received lots of advice
and tips from McCown on the sideline and practice field. Now, he'll have no
choice but to watch."I say it all the time: That's why we do this, to play,"
McCown said Wednesday when Darnold's injury was announced. "If that's the case,
you're torn because your friend and a teammate, it means he can't go. In that
regard, I don't wish that on anybody, but at the same time as a
professional
Tre’Davious White Jersey 2019 , as a backup quarterback you have to serve your team in that role and go in and play winning football."That's what's fun, that's
what you look forward to and that's why you play this game. And, we'll go out
and compete."The Jets are ranked 29th in overall offense, including 28th in the
passing game. Some of the struggles can be attributed to the inexperience of
Darnold, who has an NFL-leading 14 interceptions. During New York's current
three-game losing streak, the rookie has thrown two touchdown passes and seven
INTs.So, some might consider the injury a blessing in disguise. It allows
Darnold to take a breather and give McCown a chance to perhaps get the offense
back on track."Obviously, Josh has played a long time in this league," wide
receiver Jermaine Kearse said. "So throughout the weeks, he sees things a lot
quicker. Just the mental aspects, he's a lot further
White Zay Jones Jerseys , just with his experience and being in the league. So, him just being able to see things a lot quicker, you know, the tempo kind of picked
up a little bit."Bowles made it clear, however, that this is no long-term
solution. When Darnold is healthy, he'll step right back into the starting
role."Yeah," Bowles said, "he's our quarterback."Even if McCown is playing well
when Darnold is fully healthy?"Sam is our quarterback," Bowles answered.Bowles
was then asked why that would automatically be the case with Darnold."Because
he's our starter and he won the job," the coach said. "I feel comfortable with
him in there and I feel comfortable with Josh in there."While Darnold is the
easy target and he has shouldered the blame for the struggles on
offense
Zay Jones Jerseys 2019 , the Jets have several other culprits. Center Spencer Long has dealt with a finger injury that has led to several wayward snaps out of the
shotgun, disrupting the timing of plays. Wide receivers Quincy Enunwa and Robby
Anderson have been dealing with ankle injuries, and there have been blown plays
and dropped passes by several players."Like I've said, we didn't play well as an
offense," Bowles said. "He didn't play well last game, but there's a couple
people that have had bad games here and there, so we go from there."Offensive
coordinator Jeremy Bates has taken some heat, as well. The Jets are 18th in
points with 198 and have scored just 17 touchdowns on offense. They also rank
30th in the league in first-down success (15.8 percent) and third-down
conversions (30.8 percent)."We have to score more points and that's on me,"
Bates said. "I need to put our players in better positions to be successful,
need to put our players in better position to score touchdowns and that's my
responsibility. We have to score points in this league to win football
games."NOTES: CB Trumaine Johnson was a full participant at practice for the
first time in more than a month after being sidelined with an injured right
quadriceps. He's planning to play Sunday. "Man, it's been a month and a couple
days
White Dion Dawkins Jerseys , so I'm definitely ready," he said. "Just sitting out there supporting the team and my teammates is a different feeling, but I'm
anxious to get back out there." … Long (knee/finger), Anderson (ankle), Enunwa
(ankle), TE Neal Sterling (concussion) and NT Steve McLendon (ankle) didn't
practice. … LG James Carpenter (shoulder) was limited.
