Buffalo Bills add defensive lineman Poona Ford

With the signing of Ford, the Bills got another top run specialist for the inside of the line, along with star DaQuan Jones.

BUFFALO — The Buffalo Bills have added a key contributor to the inside defensive line, signing defensive tackle Poona Ford for one season, he announced to the team on Tuesday.

The general manager of the Bills, Brandon Beanesaid he hoped to add a defensive tackle during the 2023 NFL Draftbut the selections did not lend themselves to it throughout the three days.

“Working on some other stuff,” he said Beane after the draft. “Maybe, we’ll see, if there’s a veteran out there. We’ve talked to a couple of people before the draft. And, we decided to see and wait. I think we’ll have a chance to add at least one veteran.”

Beane He said that on the third day of the draft, when he realized things weren’t going to lend themselves to the team drafting a defensive tackle, the Bills they contacted the representatives of free agent veterans again to resume negotiations.

By signing to Ford after May 1, will not count against the team’s compensatory selections formula. The Bills anticipate receiving third-round compensatory pick in 2024 after losing linebacker Tremaine Edmunds to the Chicago Bears in free agency.

The team also renewed defensive tackle Jordan Phillips for one season in the campaign recess. The Bills remain without a defensive tackle under contract beyond the 2023 season, including Ed Oliverwho is about to play his final season as part of the optional fifth year of his rookie contract, but who is a candidate for an extension.

By signing to Fordlos Bills they got another great specialist against the run for the inside of the line. Da Quan Jones became a key piece for the interior of the line of Bills in 2022, which was shown when he had to lose his first game of the year in the defeat of Buffalo before the Cincinnati Bengals. Los Bills they gave up 172 rushing yards in that game, the second-most for Cincinnati in the whole season.

FordThe 27-year-old set a career-high in sacks last season with three, but other than that, he wasn’t much of an impact inside the New Yorkers’ new 3-4 defensive front. Seattle Seahawks as in his first four years with the club.

He had emerged as a key player in the middle of the defense of Seattle since he was signed as an undrafted free agent coming out of Texas in 2018, due to questions regarding its size. Ford he became a starter in 2019 largely because of his run defense, and he began to shine as a pass rusher, too, in 2020, earning a two-year, $12.345 million contract as a restricted free agent in March 2021.

The head coach of the Seahawks, Pete Carrollsaid after the 2022 season that the team preferred to field Ford at nose tackle, but they should have fielded him more than they would have preferred at the tech-3 and defensive end spot, “which was to get him out to a spot with the that I wasn’t familiar with.”

It will probably rotate behind Jones at technique-1 in Buffalo.

In five seasons, Ford He has recorded 7.5 sacks, 182 tackles, 28 tackles for loss and 27 hits against quarterback. he has made 64 career starts, and hasn’t missed a game over the past three years.

Information from Brady Henderson was used in the writing of this article.