Buffalo Bills release Charles Gaines, sign Gerald Hodges

The Buffalo Bills announced the release of Charles Gaines to make room for the signing of Gerald Hodges.

Once the Buffalo Bills’ roster hit 90 players, we knew every addition would mean a subtraction. That reality hit cornerback Charles Gaines on Thursday, turning into linebacker Gerald Hodges’ gain.

After providing optimism over a Hodges’ signing, head coach Sean McDermott came through and delivered with a valuable addition late in free agency. Playing inside linebacker, Hodges will fill a giant need for the Bills.

Charles Gaines joined the team late last season as a practice squad member and later signed a future contract when the season came to an end. He was in a tough race at cornerback, with plenty of depth available there are sure to be a few more cuts at the position. Gaines is a former sixth round draft pick that also played WR in college.

Good luck in the future, Gaines.

As for Gerald Hodges Jr., he comes from the San Francisco 49ers — the same team that newly signed WR Rod Streater came from in 2016. Hodges entered free agency after an impressive 2016 campaign filling in for injured players. He would finish the season with 83 tackles, 3 sacks, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and two interceptions last season.

The inside linebacker is an interesting position for the Buffalo Bills this season. Reggie Ragland is expected to start there, but is slowly coming back from a major injury last season that derailed his rookie year before it started. The Buffalo Bills also have Preston Brown, who started on the inside last season, but many weren’t happy with his performance.

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Ramon Humber was expected to beat out competition on the outside opposite Lorenzo Alexander, but I don’t feel he’s starter material. There’s plenty of depth to go around in Carl Bradford, Anthony Harrell, Jacob Lindsey, Abner Logan, Eddie Yarbrough and draft picks Tanner Vallejo/Matt Milano.

The starters are where things are tricky and adding Gerald Hodges makes it even more difficult. In my mind, I think Lorenzo and Ragland on the outside wouldn’t be too bad, with Hodges and Brown rotating in the middle. At the same time, Brown could be a cap casualty now and with a ton of un-proven backups, a lot will depend on how everyone performs in training camp.

Either way, Hodges will likely make the team and will find a valuable role with the Buffalo Bills. I like the signing and I trust by now that McDermott is hand-picking guys who he is sure will be a perfect fit in his system.

Plus, this deep in free agency, signing Hodges is a smart move.

Here’s a look at the full team roster to this point:

Next: Buffalo Bills sign Rod Streater and Wes Saxton

What do you think of the Buffalo Bills signing Gerald Hodges Jr.? Leave your thoughts below!

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