While reports surfaced immediately after the Buffalo Bills made the surprising decision to cut veteran running back and community fixture Fred Jackson that Buffalo GM Doug Whaley may have gone "rogue" in making the decision to jettison Jackson, Whaley denies that's the case.
"Let's put it this way," Whaley said recently, via Tyler Dunne of the Buffalo News. "I gather information from everybody, from the running backs coach to the offensive coordinator to the head coach and the owners. I wouldn't be in this position - especially with new ownership - I'm going to include them.
"That's my boss. We wouldn't make a decision without them."
Whaley went on to say that Bills head coach Rex Ryan was in the room with him and the pair told Jackson of the team's decision together, per the News.
Whaley made these comments shortly after the Bills 17-10 loss to the Detroit Lions, a game in which Jackson probably wouldn't have seen much action were he still with the team, but which highlighted the lack of established NFL production at the top of Buffalo's running back depth chart as the incredibly talented, but still mostly unknown, Bryce Brown saw a lot of action and displayed both flashes of his ability and a frustrating penchant for being indecisive and unable to break tackles.
The Bills and Whaley surrendered a fourth-round pick for the rights to the uber-athletic marvel during last year's NFL draft. Despite appearing in just seven games for the team last season, Brown seems set for starting duties with Jackson gone and starter LeSean McCoy dealing with a hamstring injury. Whaley was asked after the game if Brown's presence factored into Jackson's dismissal.
"It was the decision we felt we had to make," Whaley said, via the News. "And the timing we thought was best to make it then so he could obviously get a look from Seattle and get out there and talk to other teams."
