by By Larry Felser - SPECIAL TO THE NEWS , Buffalo News

The latest candidate for disappearance is Roscoe Parrish. The will-of-the-wisp receiver keeps slipping down the depth chart and his status as the most dangerous punt returner in the American Football Conference, once heralded by his team, doesn't seem to count for much any longer. There have been reports the Bills are trying to trade him without success.

Parrish's status in Football limbo seems to mirror the cases of Jason Peters, once the acknowledged best player on the roster, and Angelo Crowell, a tackling machine as a linebacker the last time he took the field as a Bill as well as serving as the defensive captain.

We can only guess why Peters, Crowell and now Parrish fell out of favor at One Bills Drive. All we know is that Peters is now a Philadelphia Eagle, Crowell a Tampa Bay Buccaneer and Parrish a candidate for a new address.

The guess here is that the Bills were miffed. They were miffed at Peters because he wanted a new contract that would reflect his quick assent to Pro Bowl status and when he didn't get it he skipped the offseason workouts and part of the 2008 training camp. They were miffed at Crowell because he stunned them by deciding to have knee surgery on the eve of the start of last season instead of waiting until the season's end.

It's hard to understand why they would be miffed at Parrish. Maybe it's because he stands less than 5-foot-10 and needs to eat an extra doughnut to reach 170 pounds. But they knew that when they made him their second-round draft choice in 2005. Second-round picks are valuable ammunition and special care should have been taken when the Bills redeemed their premium selection. Parrish is what he is, a difference-maker on the strongest unit the Bills can field, their special teams. If they found more creative ways to use him in their passing game, negating his lack of size, he might be a difference-maker in that category, too, even if he took the field for only a dozen snaps.

NFL teams can't afford to be miffed, especially teams that haven't made the playoffs since 1999. They aren't involved in ordinary business -- they are in show business, where the sanctity of contracts is more elastic according to the realities of the situation. Fans can afford to be miffed. They can relieve their outrage by writing a letter to the editor or calling a radio talk show.

Teams which relieve their outrage by shipping valuable players to other teams are merely cutting off their noses to spite their faces.

The Eagles are ecstatic about acquiring Peters, who plays the most important position on the offensive line, left tackle. He's 27, which means that barring injury he should be at or near his prime for the next eight to 10 years. The quality of his replacement in Buffalo is an unknown. Crowell is also 27 and will be replaced by a rookie, much smaller than he is. Parrish is a weapon and the Bills are shy of weapons.

This is not a new story line. Defensive tackle Pat Williams and cornerback Antoine Winfield have been gone from Buffalo since 2004, starring for the Minnesota Vikings since then. Safety Jim Leonhard was cut loose after the 2007 season, then had an outstanding year with the Baltimore Ravens. When Rex Ryan, his defensive coordinator was hired this year as the Jets' new coach, one of his first moves was to acquire Leonhard.

There is an old adage in pro Football about players who miff their teams: "We'll hang on to him as long as we don't have someone better."

The Bills have violated that adage.

Larry Felser, former News columnist, appears in Sunday's editions.

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