Buffalo Bills: Lorenzo Alexander says he is staying ready if needed

Recently on The Pat McAfree Show former Buffalo Bills linebacker Lorenzo Alexander says he is staying ready if the team needs him this coming year.

The Buffalo Bills didn’t lose many key players this offseason but one player that certainly left a void is linebacker Lorenzo Alexander. The former defensive starter retired after playing 13 years in the NFL, the last four seasons with the Buffalo Bills.

In a recent interview, Alexander made a bold prediction that the Buffalo Bills should be competing for an AFC Championship and even possibly the number one seed. He was then asked, based on that prediction, if the Buffalo Bills were to call would he consider returning.

“I’m ready. I’m working. If they make that run call me up Brandon [Beane]”

Alexander joined the Buffalo Bills prior to the 2016 season and had a breakout season in Rex Ryan’s defense after being primarily a special teams contributor. That season he would go on to have 12.5 sacks and earn his only Pro Bowl selection as a defensive player.

However, the following season the Bills made the switch at head coach going and hired Sean McDermott. The new Buffalo Bills coach runs a more traditional 4-3 defense than Ryan’s complex scheme but Lorenzo Alexander was able to remain a key contributor, even though he may not have reached the same levels he did in 2016.

While Alexander played his lowest defensive snap total of his career with the Bills (he was on the field for 48% of the snaps) and this was a combination of his age but also because the Buffalo Bills run a majority of their defensive snaps in nickel formation, which requires only two linebackers on the field.

This is one of the reasons that Lorenzo Alexander could return and still have an impact this coming season. He wouldn’t be expected to shoulder a full workload at linebacker and the Bills coaching staff could certainly pick their spots when deploying Alexander, trying to capitalize on his ability to get to the quarterback.

While Lorenzo Alexander is still retired, it wouldn’t be the most surprising thing to see him suit up for the Buffalo Bills at some point this coming season.