ORCHARD PARK — Along with several big additions through the draft, the Bills also added several players through free agency this offseason and have filled their roster with great depth. With each position coming equipped with a quality starter as well as adequate backups, Buffalo has firmly entrenched itself in ‘win now’ mode.
“We’re definitely further along than where we were when we got here,” said Bills head coach Sean McDermott. “And that’s part of the goal - you want to be able to say that.”
Buffalo has brought in several new players at various positions, including one of the biggest splashes of the NFL offseason when they traded for former Vikings’ receiver Stefon Diggs. Diggs is coming off of two-straight 1,000-yard receiving seasons and is expected to provide a big boost for the Bills’ growing pass game. With that being said, McDermott believes Buffalo can provide a boost for Diggs as well.
“I think at the end of the day, we believe that it’s been shown and proven to this point that people are able to come to Buffalo and become the best version of themselves,” said the Bills head coach. “It’s an opportunity for him to continue to grow. It’s an opportunity for us to get a good football player that will help us win.”
Another big name that Buffalo went out and got over the past few months is former Panthers and Redskins defensive back Josh Norman, who comes to the Bills in hopes of revitalizing his career.
“There’s been a lot of talk of how he played and how his chapter in Washington maybe didn’t unfold the way that a lot of people had hoped,” said McDermott, who previously coached Norman during their time together in Carolina. “But here’s what I would tell you about Josh, he is a highly competitive individual and sometimes the grass isn’t always greener from a system or scheme standpoint, and culture as well.”
With that said, McDermott believes the grass in Buffalo could indeed be greener for Norman.
“That’s another potential example really of, you know, people coming to Buffalo, and regaining in this case, a better version of oneself,” said McDermott. “With Josh you know he certainly had experienced great success in Carolina... So now hopefully (entering) a similar culture and in a similar system - the same system (that he had in Carolina) really - he’ll be able to regain his form.”
Another former Panther, defensive end Mario Addison was brought in by the Bills in hopes of producing on the field, but also in the locker room where he will take on a veteran leadership role.
“Mario was a key piece to our defense in Carolina, and again, another highly competitive individual that played really good football for us,” said McDermott. “And so, we felt like adding Mario would help us not only from a skill level standpoint, but also some of the leadership in the defensive line room.”
While Addison hopes to bring production off the edge, where the Bills lost one of its leading sack-getters in DE Shaq Lawson, who signed with the Dolphins, the Bills also brought in some help in the middle when they added another former Panther in defensive tackle Vernon Butler. Butler was brought in to help replace what the Bills lost in another leading sack-getter, DT Jordan Phillips, who signed with the Cardinals this offseason.
“I think Vernon and I overlapped a year or two in Carolina and he was hurt a little bit and got off a little bit of a slow start,” said McDermott. “But when you watch him, and what he was able to do this past season in his contract year, we were impressed.”
A player that will provide a bit of versatility for the Bills up front is former Seahawks defensive lineman Quinton Jefferson, who is a five-year veteran.
“(Butler has) position flexibility I know you guys know how much I love that,” said McDermott. “He’s played inside, he’s played outside, love his relentless attitude and approach and a true pro.”
Two additions that may provide solid contributions on special teams are linebackers A.J. Klein and Tyler Matakevich. Both will also potentially help replace the now retired linebacker Lorenzo Alexander.
“When you face teams and you know who their top special teams players are that’s a good thing, and Tyler comes with a decorated resume as a special teams player,” said McDermott. “Also I’ll say I think he’s an undervalued line of scrimmage player at the linebacker position.”
Klein is another former Panthers player who played under McDermott when he was the team’s defensive coordinator.
“It was fun to watch A.J. from a distance in New Orleans,” said the Bills’ head coach. “And then for us to reconnect through the free agency period - and he’s now got a family which is, which is really cool to hear and just to see how far he’s come in his career.”
Finally, another player who had previously played under McDermott, but in Buffalo is defensive back E.J. Gaines, whom the Bills’ brought back after he previously started 11 games for the team in 2017. Gaines has a long injury history, including a concussion that ended his 2018 season which he spent with the Browns, and a groin injury which forced him to miss the entirety of the 2019 season.
“It’s neat when you have players that are available that reached out to us and are interested in coming back even though they’ve left,” said McDermott about Gaines. “And so I think it really speaks volumes about our culture, our team, the guys, the people in our building at the Bills.”
With all of the additions the team has made, creating solid team chemistry will definitely be a concern, but McDermott is confident in his group.
“I think a lot of these older guys are aware that the only way we’re going to make progress, and be on time with progress is if they reach out to these young players and get them up to speed or help at least get them up to speed,” he said. “And so, that in and of itself has developed a little bit to this point of some camaraderie and some chemistry.”
“(We still have) a lot more room to grow at this point because of (the fact we are) really separate right now, the rookies from the rest of the team by league rule,” said McDermott, referencing the COVID-19 pandemic. “So, who knows? Give it a week or two here when we’re allowed to blend the two together, and I think it’ll grow exponentially.”
McDermott went on to mention that Bills’ general manager Brandon Beane has done a fine job improving the team this offseason.
“(Beane and his staff have) done a phenomenal job of not just via the draft, but also it’s a 365-day a year job, you know. So, filling gaps and holes via free agency and filling gaps and holes via the waiver wire at times when we can,” he said. “(We are) just finding different ways to make our team better. Whether it’s the top third, middle third or the bottom third of our roster.”
Sure sounds like a coach who expects to win.
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