Bills hire former Texans GM Gaine
Fired as general manager by the Texans in June, Brian Gaine is back with the Buffalo Bills.
Gaine was hired by the Bills on Tuesday as a senior personnel advisor.
A former New York Jets tight end, Gaine was the Bills’ director of player personnel in 2017 before rejoining the Texans. Gaine has previous stints as a personnel department executive with the Jets, Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins.
Gaine replaced former Texans general manager Rick Smith in January 2018 when Smith took a leave of absence to care for his wife, TIffany, who later died of cancer.
Gaine’s tenure with the Texans was short-lived, though. He was fired following the NFL draft on June 7.
The Texans haven’t replaced Gaine. They made an unsuccessful run at New England Patriots executive Nick Caserio, briefly drawing a tampering charge that was dropped when they ended their pursuit of Caserio.
The Texans are currently operating without a general manager, relying on coach Bill O’Brien, senior vice president of football administration Chris Olsen, team president Jamey Rootes, vice president of team development Jack Easterby and personnel department executives Matt Bazirgan, James Liipfert and Rob Kisiel.
Cowboys release receiver Hurns
The Dallas Cowboys seemingly did the inevitable with the decision to release receiver Allen Hurns.
Signed to a two-year, $11 million contract to be on the committee to replace Dez Bryant last season, Hurns was a disappointment, catching just 20 passes for 295 yards and two touchdowns. He then suffered a fractured ankle in the wild-card playoff victory against Seattle.
With Hurns set to make $4 million in base salary and carrying a $6.2 million cap figure for 2019, the numbers didn’t fit for him to return.
The Cowboys asked him to take a pay cut but he refused. And even then, there was the matter of him being a progress stopper, considering that Hurns was set to be no more than the fourth or fifth receiver on the pecking order behind the top three of Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup and Randall Cobb.
The move cleared $5 million in cap space.
Hill suspended for four games
The NFL suspended Vikings cornerback Holton Hill for four games on Tuesday for violating the league’s substance abuse policy.
Hill’s suspension - which comes on top of the fourgame ban he received for violating the NFL’s rules on performance-enhancing drugs — means he will be out for the Vikings’ first eight games.
He is eligible to practice and play in the preseason, but will not be able to play until Nov. 3.
Hill was reportedly suspended from Texas for failing a drug test, and reportedly failed a drug test at the 2018 NFL Combine.