Buffalo Bills: Could TE Jesse James be a post-draft free agent signing?

The Buffalo Bills added one tight end this offseason when they signed free agent Jacob Hollister. However, they may not be done with the position and if they don’t find a tight end they like in the NFL Draft, another option could be signing free agent Jesse James.

According to Tony Pauline of Pro Football Network, the Bills are reportedly interested in Jesse James but are not close on a contract. As Pauline writes, the Buffalo Bills did express interest in James previously, back in 2019 when he was a free agent but he would end up signing with the Detroit Lions.

James was originally a fifth round pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2015 NFL Draft however has never really developed into a top-tier tight end. In the four seasons with the Steelers, his best year came in 2017 when he had 43 receptions, 372 yards, and three touchdowns.

However, since that season his numbers have steadily dropped and in the past two seasons with the Lions, he has a total of 30 receptions, 271 yards, and two touchdowns. This raises the question of how James would fit in this offense or what role he might have.

If the Buffalo Bills were to add Jesse James, the idea would be based primarily on creating competition in training camp with Hollister and Dawson Knox. In the end, the hope would be that Dawson Knox can take that next step this year and win the starting job. He showed some improvements but not enough for the franchise to feel confident in him being their top tight end moving forward.

The additions of Hollister, and potentially James, would give the Bills two more veterans to compete and a fallback plan if Knox struggles. The tight end position is one that wasn’t utilized much last year and this might be a position they want to use more moving forward.