Bills sign 3rd-string QB DiNucci, the player's agency says, with Buechele sidelined by neck injury

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Bills sign 3rd-string QB DiNucci, the player's agency says, with Buechele sidelined by neck injury

2024-08-13 04:17 Last Updated At：04:21

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — The Buffalo Bills filled their need for a third-string quarterback by signing Ben DiNucci, the player’s agency JL Sports announced on social media on Monday.

The Bills have not yet announced the signing in part because they’ll have to make a corresponding move to free up a roster spot.

Earlier in the day, coach Sean McDermott said the team was considering adding a QB to replace Shane Buechele, who is out indefinitely with a neck injury.

McDermott did not reveal the nature of the injury in saying Buechele played through it after being hurt in Buffalo’s preseason-opening 33-6 loss to Chicago on Saturday. Adding a third QB was imperative because the Bills are limiting starter Josh Allen and backup Mitch Trubisky’s preseason playing time to avoid the risk of injuries.

Buechele finished the game after entering midway through the third quarter and went 6 of 10 for 53 yards, with an interception which linebacker Micah Baskerville returned 53 yards for a touchdown. Buechele was sacked six times and also had three carries for 22 yards.

The 27-year-old DiNucci was selected by Dallas in the seventh round of the 2020 draft after splitting his college career at Pittsburgh and James Madison. He went 23 of 43 for 219 yards in three NFL games — including one start, a loss — in his rookie year for the Cowboys.

DiNucci was released by Dallas before the start of the 2022 season, and spent last year with the Denver Broncos, before being released in May.

With Trubisky excused for personal reasons on Monday, Allen took all the team snaps in practice. Offensive quality control coach Kyle Shurmur pitched in to throw passes during individual passing drills. Shurmur, the son of former Browns and Giants coach Pat Shurmur, is a former college quarterback who spent time on several NFL team practice squads, the last being Washington in 2021.

Allen was limited to playing just the first quarter against Chicago, and it’s unclear how many more snaps he’ll get this preseason.

Buffalo is scheduled to hold a joint practice with the Steelers on Thursday before playing a preseason game at Pittsburgh on Sunday. The Bills close their preseason schedule by hosting Carolina on Aug. 24.

Receivers Mack Hollins (leg) and Justin Shorter (knee) and running back Ty Johnson (hamstring) returned to practice after missing much of last week.

Safeties Mike Edwards (hamstring) and Cole Bishop (shoulder), receiver Chase Claypool (toe) and defensive tackle DaQuan Jones (groin) all remain sidelined.

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Champions League standouts Real Madrid and PSG face English tests in quarterfinals

2025-04-06 21:26 Last Updated At：21:31

Two English clubs stand in the way of a stellar Champions League semifinal between Real Madrid with Kylian Mbappé and his long-time previous team Paris Saint-Germain.

Mbappé and Madrid are at Arsenal on Tuesday for the first leg of their quarterfinal. The return game is on April 16.

PSG, fresh from winning the French league title with an unbeaten record for coach Luis Enrique, hosts Aston Villa on Wednesday.

The new Champions League format with a tennis-style seeded knockout bracket set through to the final put those four teams in the same half of the draw.

Madrid already won six of the past 11 Champions League titles even before adding Mbappé for this season when his contract in Paris expired.

PSG has never been European champion — and reached just one final in seven seasons with Mbappé — yet looked the most impressive team in the round of 16, eliminating Liverpool, the likely champion of England.

The bottom half of the draw has three domestic league leaders and one team struggling in eighth place in its standings.

Bayern Munich hosts Inter Milan on Tuesday in the stadium that stages the final on May 31.

Barcelona starts heavily favored Wednesday at home to Borussia Dortmund, which might need to win this Champions League just to get an entry into the next one.

Real Madrid faces a path toward a record-extending 16th Champions League title just as difficult as the epic run of comeback wins in 2022: Mbappé’s PSG, Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool in the final.

This time, after eliminating Man City and Atletico Madrid, coach Carlo Ancelotti must next outsmart Arsenal and Mikel Arteta who are left with one realistic chance of a trophy.

Mbappé and defender Antonio Rüdiger — who scored the decisive penalty in a shootout to beat Atletico — were cleared Friday by UEFA to play in London. Their one-game bans for excessive celebrations were deferred for one-year probationary periods.

PSG welcomes an Aston Villa club layered with personal history in Paris for a game between two of Europe’s hottest teams.

PSG’s record since placing 15th in the league phase in January — the lowest of any of the quarterfinalists — is 16 wins in 17 games across all competitions. The blip was an unlucky 1-0 loss to Liverpool at Parc des Princes in the round of 16 first leg having been clearly the better team.

Villa has won seven straight for coach Unai Emery coming into its first game at this stage of the competition for 42 years.

Barcelona vs. Borussia Dortmund brings together the competition’s two top scorers — plus Robert Lewandowski.

Raphinha has 11 for Barcelona and Dortmund forward Serhou Guirassy has 10, tied with Harry Kane’s tally for Bayern. Both were on target when Barcelona won 3-2 at Dortmund in the league phase in December.

Lewandowski has nine for Barcelona in another prolific Champions League campaign at age 36. The Poland great scored 17 of his 103 career goals in the Champions League for Dortmund over three seasons from 2011 to 2014.

Inter beat Bayern in the 2010 final when two goals by Diego Milito helped complete a trophy treble for coach Jose Mourinho’s team.

Inter also has been back to the final more recently in 2023, a hard-luck 1-0 loss against Manchester City.

Two seasons ago, Bayern beat Inter home and away, 2-0 each time, in the group stage but was stopped in the quarterfinals by Man City.

In their worst modern Premier League seasons, Manchester United and Tottenham have one last chance to lift a trophy and qualify for the Champions League — win the Europa League.

Man United goes to Lyon for the first leg of the quarterfinals Thursday, when Tottenham hosts Eintracht Frankfurt, the 2022 Europa League winner.

Rangers, the beaten finalist in 2022, hosts Athletic Bilbao, whose stadium stages the final on May 21.

Bodo/Glimt advanced through two knockout rounds during the domestic offseason in Norway, where the league runs March to November. Bodo/Glimt now hosts Lazio in one of world soccer's most northern venues at 67 degrees latitude.

No team played more often in Europe this season than Slovenian champion Celje, which hosts Fiorentina on Thursday in its 19th game exactly nine months after starting in Champions League qualifying.

Celje was eliminated in Champions League and Europa League qualifying rounds then placed 21st in the Conference League standings, the lowest of any team left in the three competitions.

Poland’s champion Jagiellonia also played in all three competitions and travels for the quarterfinals first leg to Real Betis.

Poland hosts the May 28 final in Wroclaw, and also has Legia Warsaw in the quarterfinals. Legia hosts Chelsea in the first leg.

Djurgarden hosts Rapid Vienna in the club’s first quarterfinal since the inaugural European Cup in 1955-56. This time, Djurgarden plays at home in Stockholm. In November 1955, the “home” leg against Scottish champion Hibernian was in Glasgow because of frozen fields in Sweden.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer