Bills set new record for season ticket sales

Bills fans haven’t been this excited about their team since Zubaz pants were a fashion statement – though it’s our understanding that in Buffalo that may actually still be the case. (Sorry, Buffalo, we have to meet our joke quota.)

Fired up by the energy of new coach Rex Ryan, the addition of running back LeSean McCoy and apparently forgetting that EJ Manuel remains the quarterback, Bills fans have already gobbled up 57,500 season tickets. The franchise made that announcement on Monday, as well as a follow-up that season ticket sales will be capped at 60,000.

If that number is reached, the team will institute a waiting list much like that used by the Packers and other wildly popular teams.

Imagine that! A Buffalo Bills season ticket waiting list. These are heady times indeed.

The team’s previous record for season ticket sales was set in 1992, a year that saw the Bills make their second of four straight Super Bowl appearances.

Despite the optimism, the reality remains that the Bills own the NFL’s longest playoff drought, going 15 years without a postseason appearance. Team president Russ Brandon credited the unflinching loyalty of a beleaguered fanbase for buying in to what the team’s new regime is attempting to do.

“That the team on the field has not been to the playoffs in the last 15 years is obviously difficult for anyone who is involved in this organization, in any department,” Brandon said. “But it goes back to our fans, and it goes back to the loyalty they’ve shown — not just this year, we’re sitting here talking about a record, and that’s great — I’m talking about the loyalty that our fans have provided the entire time that we’ve been on board trying to drive this business.

“It’s an incredible testament to them, and I know that Rex and Doug Whaley and the football department are going to do everything in their power to put us over the hump.”

Bennett reports to Bears for minicamp

Martellus Bennett likes money, but he apparently likes his teammates even more.

After sitting out Chicago’s voluntary OTAs due to a contract dispute, the Bears tight end is back at the team’s Halas Hall headquarters for their mandatory three-day minicamp.

Bennett, who led all NFL tight ends with 90 receptions last season, is looking for a new contract. He has two years left on his current deal and will earn $4.9 million this season and $5.085 million in 2016.

ESPN had reported in April that Bennett did not intend to return to the team without a new deal lined up. Bennett was subject to a fine if he skipped the mandatory minicamp, so to some degree he is also making a wise financial decision by showing up. He already left a $100,000 bonus on the table by skipping Chicago’s voluntary workouts.

Falcons release former first-round pick Baker

The Atlanta Falcons decided that former first-round pick Sam Baker’s work has gone stale. Atlanta released the offensive lineman on Monday, saving them $7.3 million against next season’s salary cap.

If you forgot Baker was still on the Falcons roster, you cannot be blamed. He missed all of last season with a knee injury, and only played four games in 2013 for the same reason.

Baker’s place in the lineup had been filled in the interim by another first-round pick, Jake Matthews, who was drafted in 2014. Baker would have moved from left to right tackle, but the Falcons are pleased enough with the emergence of Ricky Schraeder (not to be confused with Ryan Schroeder) that Baker was deemed expendable.

Baker, who was taken out of Southern Cal in 2008, signed a large contract right before his injury woes started in 2013 – a six-year, $41 million contract that included a $10 million signing bonus.

Baker still has not resumed football activities since his most recent injury. He has stated a willingness to move to guard, and a team light on experienced offensive lineman would be wise to kick the tires. But due to Baker’s injury history, he had better be prepared to sign at bargain basement prices if he intends to continue his career.