Buffalo Bills add more depth along defensive line with two signings
The Buffalo Bills add more depth along defensive line after reportedly agreeing to deals with Quinton Jefferson and Vernon Butler.
One day after reportedly agreeing to a deal with former Carolina Panthers defensive end Mario Addison, the Buffalo Bills add two more defensive linemen to help bolster their line according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
The first deal was with Quinton Jefferson, who previously played the past two seasons with the Seattle Seahawks. He started 24 games for the Seahawks over the past two seasons and had 51 total tackles, 6.5 sacks and 25 QB hits over that time frame.
The #Bills are expected to sign #Seahawks DE Quinton Jefferson to a 2-year deal, source said. An underrated starter in Seattle.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 18, 2020
There is some question about where Jefferson fits best as he seems to have bounced between defensive end and defensive tackle. For the Bills, he would likely fit better at defensive tackle and can be used in passing downs to put pressure on the quarterback and collapse the pocket from the inside.
Shortly after news broke about the deal with Quinton Jefferson, Rapoport tweeted that the Bills also were adding defensive tackle Vernon Butler.
Buffalo isn’t done. Former #Panthers first-round DT Vernon Butler is headed to the #Bills, source said. He gets two years for roughly $16M on a deal that can be worth up to $18M. Of that, $9.3M is guaranteed. Another Carolina to BUF connection...
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 18, 2020
The Bills go back to the well that is the Carolina Panthers connection with this signing, one day after adding Mario Addison, by bringing Vernon Butler on board. Butler was a first round pick by the Panthers in 2016 by then general manager Dave Gettleman.
He is incredibly athletic for his size and the hope when they drafted him was that he could be a passing rushing defensive tackle. However, that production never materialize and the Panthers elected to not pick up his fifth year option.
This past season, Butler had a bounce back season and started nine games for the Panthers and finished the year with 32 tackles and six sacks.
The Bills coaching staff should know Butler well as McDermott was his defensive coordinator his rookie season and Eric Washington has been his defensive line coach and defensive coordinator at times over that stretch.
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While these moves aren’t major news, it wouldn’t be surprising if a year from now we are talking about one of these two having an impact on this defense similar to what Jordan Phillips did last year.