A.J. Epenesa
The Buffalo Bills had a decision to make this offseason about whether to re-sign A.J. Epenesa or Leonard Floyd, who did actually lead the Bills last season in sacks. In the end, it would be Epenesa that returned on a two-year deal.
The former second-round pick has now had back-to-back seasons with 6.5 sacks but looks to be in line for a much bigger role. While Von Miller is still on the roster, Epenesa should be the starter opposite Greg Rousseau for this defense at defensive end as Sean McDermott indicated earlier this offseason.
Sean McDermott on re-signing A.J. Epenesa: "We've seen some growth from him. We need to see even more consistent now ... because what the role he could be in this year is one of those starter roles, and so that consistency is gonna be important for us."
— Alaina Getzenberg (@agetzenberg) March 25, 2024
It certainly will be a role that Epenesa has to earn but when considering the Bills have seemingly added only pass-rush specialists in free agent signing Casey Toohill and fifth-round draft pick Javon Solomon, there is a lot of trust being put on Epenesa to take that next step.