Buffalo Bills GM accused of going 'rogue' when he cut a star player who'd been there for 9 seasons

(Bill Wippert/AP)
Fred Jackson was one of the most popular players on the Bills.

The Buffalo Bills' decision to cut 34-year-old Fred Jackson, who had been their star running back, was not unthinkable, but it was somewhat surprising.

As NFL teams round down to their 53-man rosters, the Bills decided to part ways with Jackson and his $2.5 million salary after nine years.

Between Jackson's price, age, and increasingly smaller role in the offense, it made sense that the Bills would cut him, even if he was a popular, stable face of the franchise.

It seems, however, that the team may not have been united on the front to do so. Buffalo News reporter Tim Graham said sources within the Bills said general manager Doug Whaley "went rogue" in cutting Jackson:

Jackson also made it sound as if the move came as a surprise to him:

But what qualifies as "rogue"? In announcing that the Bills were cutting Jackson, Whaley told reporters that the Pegulas, the Bills owners were on board:

We also let everybody know that everybody was on board. Reluctantly, because of the magnitude of this player and what he means, not only to the Buffalo Bills, but to the community of Buffalo -- him and his family. So we talked to [owners] Terry [Pegula] and Kim [Pegula] and conversed with them and decided that this was the best time to make that decision.

Deadspin's Kevin Draper also notes that at Rex Ryan's introductory news conference, Bills owner Terry Pegula said Ryan, Whaley, and president Russ Brandon would report to him and his wife. He added that Whaley would have control of the 53-man roster, while Ryan would have control of the game-day roster.

Graham clarified on Twitter that there were people other than the Pegulas who were not informed of Whaley's decision:

In the grand scheme of things, the decision to cut Jackson without informing everyone in the organization is not huge. Again, Jackson is on the back end of his career and would have seen a diminished role in the offense.

For a team that is trying to usher in a new era with Rex Ryan, however, seemingly not telling Ryan that a franchise player was being cut from the roster doesn't seem like a good start.

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