BOSTON — The Buffalo Bills did not match the contract offer tendered by the New England Patriots to restricted free-agent running back Mike Gillislee, allowing him to go to a division rival.

Terms were not disclosed, but a person with direct knowledge of the tender offer told The Associated Press last week that it is a two-year, $6.4 million deal.

As a result of not matching the Patriots’ offer, the Bills receive New England’s fifth-round selection, 163rd overall, in this week’s draft.

Gillislee was a valuable backup in his two seasons in Buffalo. He had 577 yards rushing and scored nine touchdowns in 2016, averaging 5.7 yards per carry.

Gillislee’s addition increases the likelihood that unrestricted free agent LeGarrette Blount won’t be re-signed after leading New England in rushing last season. The Patriots now have six running backs under contract.

VIKINGS: Jake Long, the first overall pick in the 2008 draft and a four-time Pro Bowl left tackle for the Miami Dolphins, has decided to retire.

Long’s 2016 season was cut short by a torn Achilles tendon. He announced on his Twitter account that a lack of progress on his rehabilitation has outweighed his desire to continue playing. He appeared in four games with the Vikings last year before getting hurt.

CHIEFS: Kansas waived Jaye Howard with a failed physical designation after the veteran defensive tackle was limited to eight games by a hip injury last season.

Howard, 28, started 13 of the 16 games two years ago, racking up 36 tackles and five sacks.

WASHINGTON: The team re-signed linebacker Will Compton, a restricted free agent.

Compton, a four-year veteran, started 15 games last season and had career bests with 104 tackles, five passes defensed and two fumbles recovered.

SEAHAWKS: As has often been the case for the past month, General Manager John Schneider had to address the latest rumors about star cornerback Richard Sherman and his future.

From Schneider’s position, nothing the Seahawks have heard thus far leads him to believe Sherman will be traded.

“Right now we’ve kind of moved past it, and if somebody calls and goes crazy with something, then we’ll discuss it again,” Schneider said. “I don’t mean go crazy, but you know what I mean. Like, give you compensation where it’s something where you really, truly have to think about it and consider it, then we would have to consider it. And we could consider it because, like I said, it’s been a mutual thing. It’s OK. And we feel like it would clear cap room and we would be able to get younger, but that’s the only reason we’d do it. I mean, the guy’s one of the top cornerbacks in the league. You don’t just give him away.”

The Sherman situation has hung over the Seahawks since Schneider acknowledged last month that he has had trade discussions with other teams regarding the outspoken, former All-Pro cornerback. Those discussions came after a season in which some of Sherman’s actions – namely a pair of sideline blowups directed at assistant coaches – seemed to take precedence over his play on the field.

Schneider didn’t completely shut the door on a possible deal, but said any deadline for getting a trade done is likely now, with the NFL draft just days away. Sherman, along with safeties Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor, were at the team’s facility Monday for the second week of offseason workouts.

Sherman has spent his entire career in Seattle, developing from an overlooked fifth-round pick into one of the top cornerbacks in the NFL. He is due $11.4 million in guaranteed salary for the 2017 season and has one year remaining on his current contract.

BENGALS: Backup quarterback AJ McCarron is looking at another year of barely getting on the field, and maybe longer.

With the draft a few days away, Cincinnati has given no indication it’s willing to trade McCarron to a team that would give him a bigger role. It’s a challenging situation for McCarron, who proved he could lead a team into the playoffs in 2015 if given the opportunity.

“As a competitor, you always want your chance to play,” McCarron said. “But it will happen. I just have to wait my time. I believe that, and I trust in my ability to keep showcasing what I can do.”

The two-time national champion at Alabama got his chance when Andy Dalton broke the thumb on his passing hand late in the 2015 season. McCarron, a fifth-round pick, started the last three games and won two. His late TD pass to A.J. Green had Cincinnati ahead in the closing minutes of a playoff game against Pittsburgh before a pair of defensive penalties helped the Steelers move in range for the winning field goal.

Last year, he was relegated to a backup role again, getting into only one game without throwing a pass.

Although there’s great demand in the NFL for starting quarterbacks, the Bengals haven’t shown an inclination to trade him. They’re content having him as the backup in case Dalton gets hurt again.

He’s in a situation similar to Jimmy Garoppolo in New England, which hasn’t shown an inclination to trade Tom Brady’s backup.

“There were some quarterbacks that got some pretty nice pay days this offseason,” McCarron said. “Hopefully in my future, one of those days is coming up.”

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