Buffalo Bills fill roster needs by adding veteran tight end Jacob Hollister

The Buffalo Bills continue to operate under-the-radar in free agency as they focus on retaining their own and patching up minor roster needs before the draft. According to Tom Pelissero, the Buffalo Bills have signed tight end Jacob Hollister to a one-year deal.

At 27 years old, Hollister has played for both the New England Patriots and most recently the Seattle Seahawks. In his four years in the NFL, Hollister has recorded 652 total receiving yards and scored 6 touchdowns on 74 career receptions. Given his age, Hollister should be able to come into the Buffalo Bills tight end room and immediately add a veteran presence while still being under 30 years old.

The most interesting about the Buffalo Bills adding Jacob Hollister is that he actually played with Josh Allen at the University of Wyoming. They only played together for the 2016 season, but they certainly had some production together. During that season, Hollister recorded 515 receiving yards and scored 7 touchdowns on 32 receptions from Josh Allen.

After trading Lee Smith to the Falcons for a seventh round draft pick in 2022, the Bills were sorely missing a veteran in the tight end room. Before adding a veteran to the room, Dawson Knox would’ve been expected to be the leader of the tight end room despite entring only his 5th year playing the tight end position. By adding Hollister to the room Knox has someone to mentor him during his development process. Given Hollister’s familiarity with Josh Allen, there’s a chance that he competes with Knox for the starting tight end gig, but it’s unlikely that he would actually beat out Knox for the job.

Now that the Bills have added a veteran tight end to the roster, it is unlikely that they continue their pursuit to trade for Zach Ertz. However, this does not rule out the possibility of the Buffalo Bills drafting a tight end in the draft.