Bills prep for free agency

Ralph Wilson Stadium - At the stroke of midnight another year of free agency begins in the NFL. And new restrictions on free agency in place this year, because of the uncaped year, are going to make it tough to find impact free agents.

The Buffalo Bills geared up for free agency Thursday, by issuing tender offers to four of their restricted free agents.

Among those tendered offers, veteran Linebacker Keith Ellison, who started eight games last year before going on injured reserve. Also tendered, Safety George Wilson, who started twelve games  and had four interceptions.

Tight End Derek Schouman was issued a tender offer. Who only played two games in 2009 before he got hurt.   And Cornerback Ashton Youboty was tendered an offer.  Yoboty played 11-games last year with one start.

The new free agency rules will keep some NFL talent away from the Bills since players now have to wait six years, not four, before becoming unresticted.  Bills GM Buddy Nix told us last week at the Scouting Combine in Indianapolis that the new rules will hurt the team.

"I think it probably impacts us more than a lot of people," Nix said, "in the fact that there's a lot of people that we might be looking at, that are not available. It is what it is, you just try to plug in, and then you try to make sure that in the draft you get what you actually need."

Among those not tendered qualifying offers by the Bills Thursday:  guard Richie Incognito, who started the final three games last year. And Tackle Jonathan Scott who started eight games.   QB Gibran Hamdan and TE Joe Klopfenstein were also not tendered.  Theyre all  free agents at midnight.