Stevie hopes to stay in Buffalo

Stevie Johnson has no interest in leaving Buffalo.

Johnson, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent on March 13, hopes the Bills plan on retaining his services.

"Of course I'm hoping Buffalo will step up," Johnson told the Buffalo News. "But if not and I hit the market in free agency, then Buffalo is in the picture no matter what."

C.J. Laboy, the agent who represents Johnson, remains optimistic the two sides can work out a deal.

"We all know where Stevie's heart is and that's a big reason why he's engrained himself in the Buffalo community as much as he has," Laboy explained. "There's a lot of time and a lot of decisions that need to be made on both sides, to be honest with you, on how we'll move forward."

Johnson, 25, has been the star player in the Bills' offence since Chan Gailey took over as the team's head coach. The enigmatic wide receiver has 158 receptions for 2,077 yards and 17 touchdowns during the past two seasons. He became only the third Bills receiver after Eric Moulds and Andre Reed to record 70 receptions in back-to-back seasons.

Over the last 10 seasons, the Bills have let too many of their key players leave via free agency. Reliable veterans such as Nate Clements, London Fletcher, Pat Williams, and Antoine Winfield left Buffalo without any compensation, which has played a role in the team's decade-long playoff drought.

The Bills finished the 2011 season with a 6-10 record and will have the 10th overall pick in the upcoming draft.