Buffalo Bills met with free agent linebacker Christian Kirksey
According to a report, the Buffalo Bills met with free agent linebacker Christian Kirksey on Friday.
It was a busy week for the Buffalo Bills and the front office capped the week off with a visit with free agent linebacker Christian Kirksey, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. The former Cleveland Brown linebacker was released earlier this month so he would be available to sign prior to the start of free agency next week.
Former #Browns LB Christian Kirksey’s free agent tour continues, as he’s visiting the #Bills today. He’s previously been at the #Raiders and #Packers, with others interested as well.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 13, 2020
As Rapoport noted in his tweet, this was actually his third visit since his release as he also spent time with the Las Vegas Raiders and the Green Bay Packers.
Kirksey was a third round pick by the Cleveland Browns in the 2014 NFL Draft and almost immediately made an impact on their defense. He played in every game in the first four years in the league and really broke out in 2016 and 2017 with over 135 total tackles each season.
The part that is amazing about that production during that stretch was he played in two different defensive formations. In 2016, he played inside linebacker in a 3-4 under Ray Horton but then played outside linebacker under Gregg Williams in 2017.
However, since that season Kirksey has had a tough stretch of injuries and over the past two seasons he has played a combined nine games. In 2018, his season was cut short due to a hamstring injury and then this past season he only played in two games before suffering a chest injury.
It isn’t surprising that the Buffalo Bills would show interest in the veteran linebacker as he would be an excellent replacement for Lorenzo Alexander. He has plenty of experience and at only 27 years of age he shouldn’t be slowing down any time soon.
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If the Buffalo Bills were to sign him they could have one of the most athletic linebacker groups in the NFL with Kirksey alongside Tremaine Edmunds and Matt Milano. This could address one of the few holes the team has on the defensive side of ball and will be worth watching if the Buffalo Bills are able to get a deal done.