Breaking down the Buffalo Bills signing of free agent Zayne Anderson

On Friday, the Buffalo Bills made their first free agent signing of the offseason by agreeing to a two-year contract with safety Zayne Anderson. He was an undrafted free agent signing by the Kansas City Chiefs in 2021 and over the past two years has been a part of their practice squad.

However, Anderson has appeared in seven regular season games over those two seasons with the Chiefs as well as all three playoff games in 2021. He has primarily been a special teams player when active though as he has only six defensive snaps but 170 special teams snaps.

Anderson also played in two games when Buffalo Bills played the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2021 AFC Divisional Round and the regular season matchup this season so the front office and coaching staff did get a chance to see him play in person this year.

What does this signing by the Buffalo Bills mean for the upcoming offseason?

While Zayne Anderson does play safety, it is hard to imagine that he will factor much into the coaching staff’s plans at that position this upcoming season. The team certainly has questions there with Jordan Poyer and Jaquan Johnson set to be a free agents and the focus for Damar Hamlin being on getting healthy and probably not a factor in the team’s plans for 2023.

The reason that this signing is notable though is for his play on special teams as the Buffalo Bills could be making some changes to that part of their roster. Jaquan Johnson, as well as Jake Kumerow, Tyler Matakevich, and Taiwan Jones were all a big part of their special teams unit last season and all four are free agents.

While contract lengths can sometimes be deceiving, the fact that the Buffalo Bills did sign him to a two-year contract is also worth noting. This could indicate that they believe he will be a key part of their roster and someone they want to keep past this season.