2016 Buffalo Bills Offseason: Pass Or Fail?

Safety – Fail

The Bills had a number of concerns heading into the offseason at safety. Aaron Williams suffered a neck injury that caused him to miss most of last season and has the potential to end his career. He is going to try to play this season but he admitted if it doesn’t feel right that he would not hesitate to retire. He’s confident he is fine but there’s no guarantee and a neck injury is not one to mess with. Corey Graham’s coverage skills dropped off towards the end of the year despite the fact that he led the team in tackles. He will start opposite Aaron Williams assuming Aaron can play. The Bills let Leodis McKelvin go in the offseason and he signed with the Philadelphia Eagles. They brought in Robert Blanton but he is not enough. The Bills remain way to thin at the position especially considering the uncertainty with Williams health and this is why they got a failing grade.

Middle Linebacker – Pass 

With Preston Brown as the Bills only decent option at middle linebacker, the Bills knew they had to address this position in the offseason in a major way. Brown struggled to make the calls for the team last year in the huddle and they needed a better option to play alongside him and possibly even to replace him. The Bills brought in two players who can compete with Brown for a starting spot but it’s only likely that one of them will actually do that. Second round draft pick Reggie Ragland is that guy. He was projected to go in the first round by many experts and the Bills did a great job trading up to get him in order to address this major need. The other player the Bills added was Zach Brown who was the only free agent that they signed from another team that they paid more than the veteran minimum to. The Bills added a starter with a second round pick in the draft and a good depth player at a reasonable price in free agency. They passed this test with flying colors!

Next: Offensive Guard, Tackle and Overall Grades