For the second year in a row, Bill Belichick is playing hardball with the Buffalo Bills. New England snagged wide receiver Chris Hogan from Buffalo last year. This year, the Patriots offered running back Mike Gillislee a $6.4 million contract. If Buffalo does not match it by 4 p.m., Gillislee will become a New England Patriot. He would join the likes of Hogan and former Bills’ cornerback Stephon Gilmore. Gilmore became a free agent this offseason. His asking price was too much for Buffalo to match.

Why Mike Gillislee is star quality

When Buffalo picked up Mike Gillislee from the Miami Dolphins in 2015, he quickly became tagged as “Touchdown Mike.” In two years with Buffalo, the rusher has found the end zone 11 times.

As a Bill, he has 844 yards. Only playing in 20 games, Gillislee averaged 5.7 yards per carry. He has incredible speed and a one-two punch that makes defenses struggle to catch him. Altough he served as Lesean Mccoy's back-up, his talent and ability to serve as a number one running back is evident.

Gillislee and LeSean McCoy combo

There is a reason that the Buffalo Bills have produced the number one rushing attack in the league last year. LeSean McCoy and Mike Gillislee were a dynamic duo that complemented each other well. While McCoy was the guy who could shift directions on a dime, Gillislee was the rusher who would take off quickly and blast by defenders. The pair could keep teams off balance during the game.

The two running backs were similar to the Fred Jackson and C.J. Spiller team a few years ago that piled on the rushing yards. This rushing attack method has kept Buffalo in many games last year and has prevented blowouts.

Buffalo's weak wide receiving core

Losing Gillislee would be a blow to a Bills’ team that watched their wide receivers get hand- picked by other teams during the offseason.

Robert Woods is now a Los Angeles Ram. Marquise Goodwin is a San Francisco 49'ers. That leaves Justin Hunter, who is now the newest member of the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Bills also have rusher Jonathan Williams on their roster, but the jury is still out on whether he can handle the job. His numbers were not impressive last year and his prior off-field issues still need to be proven as things that are definitely in the past.

While Buffalo can draft a rusher, only having a young player behind McCoy is dangerous.

Will Mike Gillislee wear a Bills or Patriots jersey tonight? Only the Buffalo Bills can decide that within the next few hours.