© Keith Allison
Running back J.D. McKissic, linebacker Za'Darius Smith, and Pass rusher Randy Gregory have each agreed to terms with clubs before reversing the decision and not signing.
Smith is still a free agent, Randy Gregory decided not to return to the Dallas Cowboys but to pen with the Denver Broncos, and J.D. McKissic returned to the Washington Commanders after agreeing on terms with the Buffalo Bills, a team that has made several inclusion in FlashPicks of the week.The situation of McKissic has unsurprisingly drawn the ire of the General manager of Bills Brandon Beane, who let his anger at Washington's handling of the situation be known when talking to the media on Friday.
Beane said, via ESPN's Alaina Getzenburg, "That was tough. Obviously, he was a guy we targeted and, in this business, in general, when you have an agreement, it's good."
"But until there's ink on the paper, and his agent did a great job. Doug Hendrickson and CJ LaBoy did a great job. There were some things that went down with the other organization, which is painful, but they chose to do what they did, and I couldn't stop it.
"I've had it before where the agent has agreed with you on something and then someone else calls and says, 'Hey, what if I add a million dollars? Or what if I do this? What if I guarantee this?' Once you have an agreement the agent's supposed to say it's over. And this agent did that. And this agent told the other club it was over. But the other club didn't back off."
The pass-catching McKissic looked to be a great fit for the Josh Allen-led Bills offense. Although, it wasn't meant to be as J.D. McKissic never signed to go to Buffalo on a two-season deal worth $7 million and, instead, re-signed with the Commanders for a similar amount.
Before Beane joined Buffalo, he was with the Panthers with present Commanders head coach Ron Rivera and Washington Vice President of football/player personnel, Marty Hurney. So, perhaps that led to him being all the more miffed.
Notwithstanding, it wasn't the only period this past week in which Commanders GM Martin Mayhew's front office was called out.
Also earlier in the week, Matthew Ioannidis - defensive lineman - was released by Washington. Matthew's agent Alan Herman took exception with how the situation was eventually handled.
Herman told The Associated Press, "They looked us straight in the eye, (Commanders VP of football administration) Rob Rogers and Rob basically said to Jared and me: 'Absolutely not. We have no thoughts of releasing Matt Ioannidis.'"
"We don't particularly care to have lied to our face. I don't like when someone lies in my face.
"They took him out of the free-agent market now for two days. That puts us now at a disadvantage because other teams have paid other defensive linemen contracts, and (Ioannidis) hasn't been able to take advantage of that. That's not the way you conduct business in the National Football League."
Later on Tuesday, Herman said Mayhew called him to tender an apology.
"This is the first time I've ever had a situation like this with him. Always professional," Herman said.
The opening week of free agency is always a strange one, and this one ended with some ruffled feathers.
The offense of the Bills was one of the best in the league last campaign and McKissic was going to be a third-down option and major pass-catching threat that Beane doesn't presently have on the roster behind running back Devin Singletary. The Bills will possibly look to go bargain shopping at the role now in free agency or use one of their drafts picks to find a skill set that is similar.
