Cornerback Ronald Darby will make his NFL preseason betting with his new team against his former team just seven days after being traded – which he finds “a little weird” – but that’s just one of few potential debuts when the Buffalo Bills visit the Philadelphia Eagles.
- Date: Thursday, 17th August
- Time: 7:05 PM
- Venue: Lincoln Financial Field
Sportsbook NFL preseason odds:
Bills +4 (-110) 39½ (-105)
Eagles -4 (-110) 39½ (-115)
Everybody loves you, so don’t let them down
Rookie quarterback Nathan Peterman debuted in the Bills 10-17 loss to Minnesota last Thursday – throwing 13 of 25 for 112 yards and one touchdown – but this Thursday’s game will be his first as backup QB to starter Tyrod Taylor, having overtaken TJ Yates in Buffalo’s depth chart. “He’s done a good job, he really has,” head coach Sean McDermott said per Buffalo News. “This is a rookie quarterback that is in the development phase of his career. … I thought he’s handled the additional reps well, and we need to continue to develop Nathan, so we know what we have.” Peterman took all of the second-team reps on Sunday’s training camp practice at St. John Fisher College. “It was a great opportunity for me, obviously,” the rookie said. “Just really appreciated it and tried to go out and do my best with what I had. I just kind of go day-by-day, one step at a time, trying to get better. They told me to go in, so I went in.” another young player who turned plenty of heads at St. John Fisher was second-year running back Jonathan Williams, whom the Bills official website deemed worthy of the award to Most Improved Player.
Alshon to see some ack-shon
Wide receiver Alshon Jeffery, whom the Eagles signed to a one-year, $14 million contract in March, sat out the NFL preseason betting opener – which Philly lost 9-24 to Green Bay – with shoulder strain. However, head coach Doug Pederson said he is “leaning towards [Jeffery] playing. He feels comfortable, we’ve talked about it, so I’m comfortable with him going.” Similarly, cornerback Ronald Darby may have a chance to begin adjusting to Philly’s defense. The Eagles acquired Darby from the Bills in exchange for slot wide receiver Jordan Matthews. On a related note, Philadelphia released running back Ryan Mathews just as he was medically cleared to return to practice from a herniated disc. “We want to thank Ryan for his contributions to the Philadelphia Eagles over the past two seasons,” the team said. “We are glad that Ryan is healthy and has been cleared to return to football activities but given the current state of our running back position, we feel like it is best for both sides to go in a different direction.” Back to the Bills game, starting QB Carson Wentz is expected to get one or two series of work depending on the state of the offense.
A little @cj_wentz MAGIC!
And @mackhollins will not be stopped.
This was beautiful. #FlyEaglesFly #PHIvsGB pic.twitter.com/ym8Vu4swtq
— NFL (@NFL) August 11, 2017
“The bullets don’t really fly for real for another couple of weeks,” Pederson said. “The other thing you guard against [is] a hit, something in the game that might take him out.” Those are very violent images but who ever said NFL preseason betting was friendly.