According to reports, the Buffalo Bills are adding to their linebacker position by signing free agent Darron Lee.
The depth at linebacker has been an issue and has been tested this season as starters Tremaine Edmunds and Matt Milano have both missed time. While Edmunds only missed one game, Milano has missed three of the first seven.
The player who has replaced Milano, Tyrel Dodson is also dealing with his own injuries and is currently on injured reserve. This is why the news on Thursday that the Bills were reportedly signing Darron Lee wasn’t all that surprising.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, it is unclear whether he will join on the practice squad or the 53-man roster. However, considering it is this close to Week 8 and he still needs to clear COVID-19 protocol, it would make sense for him to be added to the practice squad.
Former #Jets and #Chiefs LB Darron Lee is expected to join the #Bills, source said, either on the 53-man roster or the practice squad. He’s visiting Buffalo now and needs to do a physical and pass through COVID-19 protocols first.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 29, 2020
Darron Lee was selected 20th overall in the 2016 NFL Draft by the New York Jets and spent three seasons there. However, he struggled with the Jets and never developed into that impact linebacker they envisioned when they selected him.
That was why the Jets traded Lee to the Chiefs prior to last season and as a member of the Chiefs saw limited playing time at linebacker. While he did only play 14% of the defensive snaps, he was a key piece on their special teams with 57% of special teams snaps.
This was one of the main reasons I wrote prior to the season that adding Lee would be a great move for the Buffalo Bills. This is a smart low risk, high reward type move for the Buffalo Bills. They are adding a linebacker with experience who can contribute on special teams.
However, he is also a former first round pick and has an athletic profile that the Buffalo Bills look for in their linebackers. He may not have tremendous size but has great speed and quickness.
If the Bills are able to maximize that part of his game, they could have a player who could see his role grow in this defense.