Cortez Broughton looks on during a college football game.
The Buffalo Bills are bringing some veteran depth to their defensive line by adding a former Kansas City Chiefs tackle to their practice squad.
The team announced on December 6 that they signed Cortez Broughton, a 26-year-old who was on Kansas City’s practice squad to start the season. The move came after an injury to Bills defensive tackle Jordan Phillips, who was hurt in the team’s Thursday win over the New England Patriots.
Bills Add Veteran Help
Broughton joins the Bills after being released by the Chiefs in October. He had been with Kansas City during the offseason but was released in July after failing a physical, USA Today’s Chiefs Wire reported.
Broughton then rejoined the Chiefs in late September, but was released two weeks later and remained a free agent. He joins a Buffalo team in need of some depth in the defensive line after Phillips suffered a shoulder injury and has been held out of practice.
The Bills had room on the practice squad for Broughton after signing defensive tackle CJ Brewer to the 53-man roster from the practice squad. As Nick Wojton of USA Today’s Bills Wire noted, the move likely means that Phillips is in danger of missing Sunday’s game against the New York Jets.
“It’s not set in stone, but the transaction involving Brewer could be bad news for defensive tackle Jordan Phillips,” Wojton wrote.
“On one of the very last plays New England ran on offense in the Bills’ 24-10 win over them in Week 13, Patriots quarterback Mac Jones was scrambling all around on the field. Phillips was chasing and took a dive at him and missed. Soon after, the Bills announced that Phillips was out due to a shoulder injury.”
The Bills face a key stretch, having just regained the lead in the AFC East and the No. 1 overall seed in the conference. The Bills still have three divisional games remaining.
Broughton has appeared in 12 games since the Los Angeles Chargers selected him in the seventh round of the 2019 NFL Draft.
Bills Plan Other Moves
The Bills are reportedly planning some other moves for the practice squad, including the potential return of a 2021 draft pick who had been released this week. The Bills this week released wide receiver Marquez Stevenson, who had played mostly on special teams during his rookie season but has missed long stretches due to injury.
As NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero reported, the Bills had plans to bring Stevenson back.
“The #Bills are activating WR Marquez Stevenson from injured reserve and then releasing him today, per source,” Pelissero reported on Twitter. “It’s a procedural move that allows Buffalo to re-sign Stevenson to the practice squad, if he clears waivers. He contributed in the return game as a rookie in 2021.”
“@VonMiller is coming back, he’s not hanging up. He hated that it happened, but he already had his focus on his rehab.”
The Bills will likely need more depth at edge rusher after All-Pro Von Miller was placed on injured reserve and coach Sean McDermott said this week that he would be out for the season. Miller had previously expressed hope that he might be able to return before the end of the regular season, but an exam this week revealed that he had suffered a torn ACL.