Buffalo Bills: Ranking the best remaining linebackers targets in free agency

3. Jon Bostic

The next linebacker is one that has never played under Sean McDermott but shouldn’t face much of a learning curve. The reason is that Jon Bostic has been a linebacker for the Washington Commanders since 2019 and has played the last three seasons under Ron Rivera.

Rivera and Sean McDermott have worked together for a number of years from their time with the Carolina Panthers and run very similar defensive schemes. He has appeared in 121 games and has 86 starts with 584 total tackles and 9.5 sacks.

Jon Bostic is similar to A.J. Klein in that he has been an excellent backup and has shown at times in his career that he can be a starter. Both players are getting toward the end of their careers and Bostic will be 32 years old also this season.

The reason that Bostic is ahead of Klein, and it isn’t by much, is that Bostic is a little better in coverage. If the Buffalo Bills want to continue operating in a nickel defense, that little extra athleticism that Bostic has could be valuable.