Getty Head coach Sean McDermott of the Buffalo Bills stands with general manager Brandon Beane on the field before a game against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on September 8, 2019.
The Buffalo Bills are bolstering their defensive line by bringing back a rookie defensive end who started his career in Buffalo.
The Bills announced on November 17 that they signed defensive end Kingsley Jonathan to the practice squad after his release from the Chicago Bears. Jonathan had joined the Bills this offseason as an undrafted free agent out of Syracuse, but failed to earn a spot on the final roster. He was picked up by the Bears on waivers, and now will return to Buffalo to provide some depth at defensive end.
Jonathan Returns to Buffalo
After joining the Bears on waivers prior to the start of this season, Jonathan saw action as a reserve. As the team noted, the 6-foot-4, 260-pound defensive end appeared in five games, logging 35 snaps on defense and eight on special teams. He made two tackles in the team’s November 13 loss to the Detroit Lions.
Jonathan’s story may be familiar to college football fans across Western and Central New York. His family immigrated to the United States from Nigeria when Jonathan was 14, settling in North Carolina. As a 2018 profile from the Daily Orange noted, Jonathan took to football quickly and was named a MaxPreps Freshman All-American in his freshman year.
He faced adversity along the way. The couple that hosted Jonathan in the United States came under investigation for exploiting foreign students, and he moved in with new guardians while cooperating with a federal investigation into human trafficking.
He continued to excel at football, landing with the Syracuse Orange and becoming one of the team’s top pass rushers. Syracuse coach Dino Babers had plenty of praise for the players who earned a spot on the ACC Honor Roll three times.
Kingsley Jonathan with the euro step at left edge, then clears the tackles hands & gets flat to pressure the QB & help force an early throw. Smooth
“Kingsley, to me, is going to be one of those guys, he’s going to be the mayor, he’s going to be a head coach, he’s going to be the athletic director, he’s going to be the chancellor, he’s going to be the governor. He’s going to be one of those guys,” Babers told Spectrum News reporter Kate Callaway.
Bills Bring in More Help on Defense
While the Bills were signing Jonathan to their practice squad, they also brought back former linebacker A.J. Klein in a separate move. The Bears, who acquired Klein as part of the trade that sent linebacker Roquan Smith to the Baltimore Ravens, released the linebacker on November 16 and the Bills picked him up off waivers.
Klein had previously played for the Bills in 2020 and 2021, serving as a backup to Tremaine Edmunds. With Edmunds being ruled out for Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns, Klein can provide some depth and familiarity with defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier’s scheme.
Bills general manager Brandon Beane told the Buffalo News that the team had kept its eye on both Jonathan and Klein in case there was an opportunity to bring them back.
“We liked Kingsley a lot,” Beane said. “We thought he did a really good job at camp. We had some tough cuts at the 53 and he was one of the guys that got claimed. We talked about it, you hate losing (him) and you never know. You always tell them ‘listen, you did a great job for us, this league’s unpredictable, you never know. Maybe this year, maybe next year, there’ll be an opportunity to get you back’ and similar to AJ Klein, we saw he was out there. Once he went unclaimed, we connected with his agent and brought him here for a practice squad spot. Excited to see him, a great smile on his face. He was wearing his Syracuse Orange shirt today. He was excited to be back.”