Getty Buffalo Bills offensive tackle Dion Dawkins attempts to block a Kansas City Chiefs pass rusher.
If one thing is for certain, the Buffalo Bills will be making moves on their offensive line this offseason.
With five different offensive linemen set to hit free agency, including right tackle Daryl Williams and interior lineman Jon Feliciano, the Bills might have to bring in a few new faces in order to resolidify their line. But, if it’s up to left tackle Dion Dawkins, the Bills might look at bringing in a familiar face.
In recent days, the Las Vegas Raiders have started cutting players in order to create some salary cap space for next season and one of those cuts happened to be former Bills offensive lineman Richie Incognito.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported on March 5 that the Raiders were releasing Incognito because of their salary cap and that the veteran offensive lineman was 100% healthy and was looking forward to continuing his NFL career.
The #Raiders will be releasing Richie Incognito because of their salary cap. He is 100% healthy and looks forward to continuing his career there or elsewhere, source said.
As it was evident this year, the Bills are always looking for depth across the offensive line and although Incognito is 37 he could still provide the Bills with a veteran voice and fill in a hole as either a starter or backup.
During his rookie season in Buffalo, after Dawkins was drafted in the second round of the 2017 NFL Draft out of Temple, he quickly overtook the starting left tackle position for the Bills and played alongside Incognito on the left side of the line. After Incognito’s release, Dawkins was already reaching out to his former teammate to see if he could get him back to Buffalo.
@68INCOGNITO what’s really good 👀❄️❄️#IfYouShnowUShnow
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Incognito Suddenly Retired After 2017 Season
After playing three games for Buffalo in 2009, Incognito returned to the Bills in 2015 and was named a pro bowler every year from 2015 to 2017 and started all 48 games that he played in during his three-year stretch.
Buffalo went 24-24 during that stretch and made the playoffs in Sean McDermott’s first year as the head coach, but they also had the NFL’s top rushing offense in two of the three years that Incognito was in Buffalo.
After Incognito’s third year in Buffalo, he decided to retire and The Washington Post reported that he claimed his “liver and kidneys are shutting down” as his reasoning.
Incognito stayed retired for a year and missed all of the 2018 season but he returned in 2018 and has played the past two seasons with the Las Vegas Raiders. He played and started in 12 games last season but played in just two this past year before being cut by the Raiders on Friday.
Bills Have Other Offensive Line Questions to Answer
With free agency approaching, the Bills will have to decide what to do about Williams, Feliciano, Ike Boettger, Ty Nsekhe, and Brian Winters.
Williams and Feliciano could be the two biggest targets for general manager Brandon Beane and McDermott, but Boettger, Nsekhe, and Winters also played a role this past season and provided the Bills with depth and versatility across the offensive line.
Feliciano has already come out this offseason and said that he expects to come back to Buffalo while Williams might be one of the most sought after offensive linemen on the market.
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