National Football League

Bills' Mike Williams gets permission to seek trade

Published Oct. 13, 2014 11:41 a.m. ET

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ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) The agent for Buffalo Bills wide receiver Mike Williams has been granted permission to seek a trade, General Manager Doug Whaley said Monday.

Whaley said Williams' agent, Hadley Englehard, asked to gauge interest from other teams in a possible trade. But Whaley says the Bills aren't actively pursuing a trade.

''We like Mike Williams, we expect him back and we expect big things from him,'' Whaley said. ''But like anybody, if he gets me compensation worthy of a No. 1 wide receiver, which he claimed he is, then we would entertain it.''

Williams was not present in the locker room Monday when reporters were allowed access. A message left with Englehard was not immediately returned.

Williams was surprisingly inactive for Sunday's 37-22 loss to the New England Patriots. Williams started the Bills' first four games.

Bills coach Doug Marrone said the decision was made to deactivate Mike Williams when the team learned late last week that defensive tackle Kyle Williams would be healthy enough to play after missing the previous game with an ankle injury.

''By that time, we had put so much in game plan-wise for a three tight end package that we practice quite a bit,'' Marrone said.

''I brought Mike in on Saturday and I told him I needed him to do this for the team. I said, `It's not a great situation, but it's due to the special teams and everything that we needed to cover.' We talked to him and he handled it like a pro and he'll be ready to go next week.''

The Bills (3-3) acquired Williams in April for a sixth-round draft choice in a trade with Tampa Bay. He has eight catches for 142 yards and a touchdown in five games this season.

Williams, a Buffalo native, said at the time it was ''a dream come true'' to be traded to his hometown team.

Marrone was the coach at Syracuse when Williams abruptly quit the team in November 2009 during his junior season.

Whaley said there have been no conflicts between Williams and Marrone this season.

''He's been a great addition to our program,'' Whaley said. ''Have not had one ounce of problems with him.''

Marrone said he had not had any problems with Williams and the wide receiver had not expressed a desire to him to be traded.

Williams signed a six-year, $40 million contract in 2013. He has a fully guaranteed salary of $5.2 million for 2015.

Buffalo has had other issues this season, losing three of four games and needing to address issues on offense and defense in preparing to host Minnesota (2-4) on Sunday. The team changed quarterbacks two weeks ago and the franchise itself was recently sold to Terry and Kim Pegula.

The running game, a perceived strength coming into the season, has struggled. The Bills have been held under 100 yards rushing in four straight games and have only two rushing TDs this year.

''We've got to go back and get this going again,'' Marrone said. ''You put so much emphasis on the other stuff, you improve and then all the sudden you take something that was your strength - that I believed was our strength - and it does down. And that's what you can't have.''

Starting running back C.J. Spiller rushed six times for 19 yards against the Patriots and lost a fumble. Spiller was on the field for just 12 snaps, his lowest since the 2011 season.

''It's not one individual,'' Marrone said. ''It's easy when it's one individual. You just put one out and put somebody else in. But it's up front, it's hitting the holes, it's believing and rusting the scheme.''

On defense, the Bills now rank No. 1 in the league against the run, allowing 67.5 yards per game. But they allowed Tom Brady to pass for 361 yards, the most allowed by the Bills since Brady threw for 387 on Sept. 25, 2011.

NOTES: The Bills have held opponents under 90 yards rushing in each of the first six games, the longest streak since a six-game stretch from Sept. 22 through Nov. 3, 1996, according to STATS. . The Bills have yet to produce 20 first downs in eight consecutive games dating back to last season. It's the longest streak since a 10-game stretch spanning the 2009 and 2010 seasons. . LB Ty Powell left Sunday's game with an ankle injury and S Aaron Williams did not dress due to a neck and wrist injuries. The Bills will monitor their progress throughout the week before providing an update, a team spokesman said.