The need to find offensive tackles became an even bigger priority for the Bills this offseason after the sudden retirement of four-year veteran Brad Butler.

Buffalo allowed 46 sacks last season and ranked last in the NFL in sacks allowed per play.

One reason for that dismal display was the loss of Butler, their starting right tackle, in Week 2 with a serious knee injury. He tore his anterior cruciate ligament and underwent surgery.

A fifth-round pick out of Virginia in 2006, Butler was developing into an efficient and reliable blocker. But his decision to retire at age 26 to pursue a career in government service caught Buffalo's new regime off guard and left the tackle position woefully thin.

Left tackle Demetrius Bell, who struggled badly when he did play, is also coming off knee surgery. Backups Kirk Chambers, Jamon Meredith and Andre Ramsey are the only other tackles under contract.

The Bills are most likely to find help in the April draft than through free agency. The list of unrestricted free agent tackles is thin, dotted with names like Levi Jones of Washington, Chad Clifton of Green Bay and ex-Bill Mike Gandy of Arizona.

The draft, however, is very deep at the position and Buffalo would surely have a shot at a top prospect with the No. 9 pick. Buffalo's staff concentrated hard on the position at the NLG Combine in Indianapolis.

The top prospects are Oklahoma State's Russell Okung, Rutgers' Anthony Davis, Iowa's Bryan Bulaga, Oklahoma's Trent Williams, USC's Charles Brown and U-Mass' Vladimir Ducasse.

"We respect Brad's decision to purse the next chapter of his life," Bills general manager Buddy Nix said. "He has tremendous character and a very bright future in whatever career path he chooses and we wish him all the best."

Butler, who majored in government at Virginia, worked for a government relations firm headed by late Bills quarterback and U.S. Congressman Jack Kemp in Washington, D.C.

He also took part in the NFL Business Management and Entrepreneurial Program, studying at Harvard, Penn and Stanford. His work for Virginia's Center for Politics Youth Leadership Initiative also influenced his decision to leave pro football behind.

"Playing in the National Football League has been a tremendous opportunity and a great blessing," Butler said in a statement released by the Bills.

"However, my passion for education, country and community is something that I am ready to devote my full attention to. I believe the best way to pursue these spheres of interest is to step away from the game of football at this point in my life. I will always remember my time spent in Western New York with great affection."

Butler's teammates expressed their admiration and respect. After all, he left on the table a three-year, $8.8 million contract extension.

--Longtime college assistant Daryl Daye has joined the team as assistant to head coach Chan Gailey. Daye, a native of Ferriday, La., has 24 years of collegiate coaching experience, serving the past four years as defensive coordinator at Missouri Southern State. From 1989-90, Daye was a graduate assistant at Southern Mississippi when Brett Favre was the school's quarterback. He also worked under former NFL Coach of the Year Sam Rutigliano at Liberty University.

--MLB Paul Posluszny on the prospects of Buffalo switching to a 3-4 defensive scheme: "In one year's time, you could do it. Teams have done it and transitioned over. But we need new pieces to make it work. We could also mix it in and run that scheme on third down, because the 3-4 is full of great blitz packages. That's something we could look into."

--The Bills' job is Chan Gailey's sixth head coaching position, following stints at Troy State, Birmingham Fire, Samford University, Dallas and Georgia Tech. What has he learned at each stop along the way?

"I think about those things and I think about the way you deal with week-in and week-out situations, how you've dealt with issues that have come up on the team that maybe you can do a better job of handling the issues that you are dealt," Gailey said.

"I think that the first year I was at Dallas, we go to the first round of the playoffs and I take the blame for losing that game because I think I let the team get overconfident in that ballgame because we played Arizona earlier in the year and beat them so bad and that was a mistake. I didn't think it at the time, but as you go back through the years, what can you do better? Did I do something wrong? And if I did, I certainly won't do it again."

--Pencil in the Bills as a potential landing spot for recently released Chargers RB LaDainian Tomlinson if the team decides to trade Marshawn Lynch. Former San Diego assistant GM Buddy Nix is very familiar with Tomlinson's skills and could view him as the perfect complement to Fred Jackson. Tomlinson rushed for just 730 yards last season but he's the NFL's No. 8 all-time rusher and at age 30 would welcome a backup role that would require less wear on his body. The Bills are believed to also be targeting a running back in the draft on Day 2, perhaps Stanford's Toby Gerhart.

--Speaking of San Diego, the Bills are believed to be researching backup quarterback Charlie Whitehurst as a potential restricted free-agent signing (four-year player under no-cap rule). Whitehurst, who played at Clemson, was a third-round pick in 2006 and has been grooming for an opportunity to start, something that won't materialize in San Diego with Phillip Rivers entrenched. It's believed Whitehurst will be tendered at $1.176 million or 110 percent of his 2009 paragraph five salary, giving San Diego right of first refusal and a third-round pick if he signs elsewhere.

QUOTE TO NOTE
"Last but not least, I believe in character. I believe we're going to try to get our guys to understand how important it is to do things the right way both on and off the field. It's for the good of the team and for the longevity of their career." -- Bills head coach Chan Gailey.

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