[Buffalo Bills News]

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) - Darwin Walker and the Buffalo Bills have increased talks to complete a restructured contract in time for the defensive tackle to attend the team's mandatory mini-camp next week.

"We've had dialogue and we're still hopeful," Walker's agent, Albert Irby, told The Associated Press on Friday. "We've got to be hopeful because Darwin wants to play there and sees it as a wonderful opportunity. He wants to be a Bill in the worst way."

Irby said he and the Bills have spoken numerous times this week, including Friday, when he sent an e-mail to the team outlining his client's latest position.

Buffalo Bills step up talks with defensive tackle Darwin Walker

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Bills' Walker prepared to miss start of minicamp


With contract talks progressing slowly, veteran defensive tackle Darwin Walker is prepared to face a fine for missing the start of the Buffalo Bills' mandatory minicamp Monday.''We're moving at a snail's pace,'' Walker's agent, Albert Irby, told The Associated Press on Sunday. ''We ain't that close. I don't know if we're going to get anything done today.''
Irby said he spoke with Bills general manager Marv Levy on Saturday, but wasn't sure when the team would get back to him.
Walker brought his football gear with him to attend a wedding in Chicago this weekend, Irby said, but his client has not made plans to travel to Buffalo for the start of the three-day camp. It's the Bills' only mandatory session and their last series of practices before the start of training camp in late July.
Should Walker not report, he stands to face a fine because he has two years left under his current contract.
Walker is holding out to negotiate a contract extension, a condition he agreed to with Buffalo when the Bills acquired him in March as part of a deal that sent linebacker Takeo Spikes to Philadelphia.
The seven-year veteran has not reported to the Bills since the trade and has vowed he won't do so until a new deal is completed.
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''At this point, Darwin feels he has to do what he's got to do. And I imagine they feel the same way,'' Irby said. ''But nobody's slammed the door. We're having cordial talks. As long as we're talking, we're moving forward. But it is a slow pace.''
Levy did not immediately return a message left with him.
Walker has missed 12 voluntary minicamp practices and is well behind in learning the Bills' defensive system. He's a key addition to a young defense that has lost three starters: Spikes, linebacker London Fletcher and cornerback Nate Clements.
An agile and penetrating tackle, Walker is considered a good fit for the Bills, who ask their defensive linemen to do more than just stop the run. He had 36 tackles and six sacks in 15 games last season and added two sacks in a 27-24 loss to New Orleans in the playoffs.

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[Buffalo Bills News]

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. - The Buffalo Bills are prepared to move on without Darwin Walker after they couldn't agree on a new contract with the veteran defensive tackle before the start of a mandatory minicamp Monday.

Talks continue, but general manager Marv Levy said the ultimate decision to report to the team rests with Walker, who is under contract, and has been advised he's subject to being fined.

"We'd like to have him," Levy said. "But if he's not going to be here, we'll go on without him. That's all it amounts to."

Walker is holding out while seeking an extension to the two years he has remaining on his contract. Negotiating a new deal was a condition the seven-year NFL veteran placed on the Bills in March after the team acquired him in a trade that sent linebacker Takeo Spikes to Philadelphia.

Walker a No-Show at Bills Camp

[Lefty Noob]

"Prepared to move on without" him... makes it sound like he'll either be traded or released soon, doesn't it?