Bills rookie wide receiver Zay Jones is ready to move on. But he does have teammates and a Hall of Famer supporting him, after last week’s near-miss of a huge play went awry.
Jones had a chance at a game-winning touchdown glance off his hands at Carolina, ending a late Bills drive on fourth down with 14 seconds to go and a 9-3 loss.
Via Leo Roth of the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, the second-rounder said he hopes to learn from the mistake, and get better from it.
“I’m going to be in that position again, maybe even this week, farther down the line, but when my time comes I’ll be prepared and I’ll make that catch,’’ Jones said. “It was tough, it was difficult.
The big thing for me was looking around the locker room and knowing I let them [his teammates] down. These are my guys who I play hard for, the coaching staff as well. But I’ll learn from it and it’ll make me a better player.’’
The Bills could use all the help they can get at the position, and hope Jones develops into a weapon for them. And while Tyrod Taylor’s pass wasn’t perfect, it was certainly catchable, and the narrow margin of the game only added to the pain.
But former Bills wideout Stevie Johnson and Hall of Famer Andre Reed reached out via Twitter to support him, with Reed saying: “Keep grindin youngin, game winners are in you.’'
Jones caught a NCAA-record 399 passes at East Carolina, and they think he’ll become part of the solution there eventually. And if he eventually fulfills Reed’s prophecy, memories of last week’s play will fade with time.