Bills notebook
Royal keeps eye on Gustav’s advance
Buffalo Bills tight end and New Orleans native Robert Royal has been monitoring Hurricane Gustav, which hit land southwest of his beloved hometown.
According to reports, Gustav was listed as a Category 2 hurricane. Hurricane Katrina, which ravaged much of the Gulf Coast region in 2005, was a Category 3 storm.
“The good part about it is the hurricane was a little weaker than Katrina and not a Category 4, which I was really worried about,” Royal said. “The thing about is we were able to evacuate about two million people out of the city and only about 10,000 remained. The most important thing is everybody is safe so we can start things over and move in the right direction.”
Royal still has family in the New Orleans area, and most of them heeded warnings to get out of town.
New Orleans and the entire Gulf Coast still haven’t fully recovered from Katrina. Royal said the last thing the fragile region needs is another hurricane.
“Any little storm would do just enough damage to hold us up,” he said. “The levee systems and everything we have right now is not sufficient for any kind of flooding. So we definitely have to monitor that and be ready. But again, the most important thing is a lot of people got out. You can always replace material stuff.”
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The Bills filled two of their last three remaining practice squad spots by signing wide receiver C. J. Hawthorne and tight end Jonathan Stupar.
Hawthorne returns after being part of the first roster cuts on Aug.
26. He originally signed midway through training camp when injuries depleted the position.
Stupar was picked up two days after being released by the New England Patriots, who signed him as an undrafted rookie free agent out of Virginia in May. The 6-foot-3, 254-pounder set career highs with 40 catches, 359 yards and two touchdowns as a senior for the Cavaliers. He’ll provide depth, if needed, at tight end, which has been hit by injuries as well.
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Derek Schouman moved a step closer to playing in the season opener against Seattle on Sunday. The backup tight end practiced in pads with the team Monday as he tries to come back from a left knee injury.
Schouman is not certain he’ll be able to play against the Seahawks, but remains hopeful the knee will be fine by Sunday.
“It feels good,” he said. “It’s a little stiff and rusty, I guess, just to get back out there, but I’ll be fine.”
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Linebacker John DiGiorgio is still out with a rib injury. Linebacker Jon Corto (concussion), tight end Derek Fine (thumb) and offensive tackle Matt Murphy (shoulder) also were sidelined on Monday.
Wide receiver Justin Jenkins returned to practice after being excused Sunday due to the birth of his child.
