Buffalo Bills: Grading the reported signing of Mario Addison

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - SEPTEMBER 08: Mario Addison #97 of the Carolina Panthers before their game against the Los Angeles Rams at Bank of America Stadium on September 08, 2019 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - SEPTEMBER 08: Mario Addison #97 of the Carolina Panthers before their game against the Los Angeles Rams at Bank of America Stadium on September 08, 2019 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images)
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CHARLOTTE, NC – DECEMBER 10: Mario Addison #97 of the Carolina Panthers strips the ball from Case Keenum #7 of the Minnesota Vikings in the third quarter during their game at Bank of America Stadium on December 10, 2017 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTE, NC – DECEMBER 10: Mario Addison #97 of the Carolina Panthers strips the ball from Case Keenum #7 of the Minnesota Vikings in the third quarter during their game at Bank of America Stadium on December 10, 2017 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

Team Need

The Buffalo Bills had two key areas of need to start the offseason, which was wide receiver and pass rusher. The Bills’ defense was one of the best in the league last year but they didn’t get a ton of production from the defensive end position.

Entering this offseason, the team had Jerry Hughes, Trent Murphy and Darryl Johnson under contract however those three combined for only 10.5 sacks last year. While Addison alone had 9.5 sacks so he fills a need for this team’s ability to get to the quarterback.

At 32 years of age, Addison isn’t a long term solution and this move doesn’t completely address the position and the Bills could still use a top pick to add another pass rusher. However, it buys the team some time to find out what that answer might be and gives them a starting defensive end for 2020.

Grade: B+

Schedule