Williams is now under contract until 2016.

A major criticism fans have of the Bills’ front office in recent years is that every good player the Bills produce seems to leave for greener pastures (i.e. bigger money) partway through their careers.

Well, that won’t be an issue with star DT Kyle Williams. The Bills and Williams have reportedly agreed to a six-year contract extension that could be worth as much as $39 million, with $17 million guaranteed.

Williams, originally a fifth-round draft pick out of LSU, has steadily improved during his time in Buffalo, rapidly becoming one the league’s elite defensive tackles. Last season was Williams’s masterpiece, as he terrorized interior offensive lineman around the league. He racked up 77 tackles, including 11 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks. He was so dominant Pro Football Focus (a group specializing in advanced football metrics) considered him the 3rd-best player in the entire NFL last season. Somehow, he was only an alternate to the Pro Bowl, but he was eventually placed on the team.

This is obviously a great move by the Bills. The price is steep, no doubt, but Williams is worth it. He’s a tremendous talent and a class act in the locker room – Bills rookie DT Michael Jasper raved about Williams’s leadership and his willingness to help young players in BLD’s exclusive interview with Jasper.

Hopefully, the Bills soon move to lock up another young talent who was picked late in the draft but grew into a star: WR Stevie Johnson.

That's Stevie. (Photo Credit: ESPN)

If you weren’t aware already, Bills wide receiver Stevie Johnson is freaking awesome.

And I’m not just saying that because Johnson is one the league’s brightest young stars. It’s because he just genuinely seems like an awesome guy in real life. Example: Johnson decided to take in Buffalo’s uniform unveiling last week…as a fan. Since he’s locked out as a player, Johnson simply bought a ticket and watched from the stands. As fans recognized him, he mingled and signed autographs. Awesome.

Johnson’s a unique character, and one aspect of that is that he dresses in a unique way – as evidenced by the photo to your right and the video below.

 Johnson swung by the ESPN Offices today to talk fashion and some other topics. This is definitely an interview worth watching. Johnson hits on a number of topics, including his big drop against Pittsburgh, if he thinks he can improve in 2011, Ryan Fitzpatrick , the time he got made fun of on ESPN for wearing a “wife-beater” tank top to a press conference, Buffalo’s new uniforms, and his own sense of fashion.

(more…)