The Buffalo Bills continued to fine-tune their defense after making a splash trade to land cornerback Rasul Douglas.
Bills general manager Brandon Beane told reporters on November 1 that he was “hardcore” looking to add a defensive tackle after losing DaQuan Jones (torn pec) indefinitely. Buffalo announced on Thursday, November 2, that they were signing former Philadelphia Eagles veteran Linval Joseph.
The 6-foot-4, 330-pound tackle looks to be a solid depth add. In order to facilitate the move, the Bills placed cornerback Kaiir Elam, their No. 23 overall pick from the 2022 NFL draft, on injured reserve (ankle).
The @BuffaloBills getting Linval Joseph is a nice move. Played mostly straight-up 0-tech with a little nose shade for the Eagles last season. Primarily a double-team creator for others to thrive, but can still stack-and-shed and disrupt a bit.
Joseph, the New York Giants second-round pick from the 2010 NFL draft, won Super Bowl XLVI with New York in 2011. The East Carolina alum went on to sign a five-year, $31 million contract with the Minnesota Vikings in 2014. The Vikings preemptively signed him to a $50.35 million extension in 2017.
The two-time Pro Bowler spent two seasons with the Los Angeles Chargers before landing with the Eagles last season, helping Philadelphia reach the Super Bowl.
According to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, the Bills signed Joseph to a one-year deal worth up to $3.7 million.
Linval Joseph ‘Perfectly’ Fits Into the Bills Defense
We’ve signed DT Linval Joseph and placed CB Kaiir Elam on IR.
At age 35, Joseph won’t be an every-snap type of player, but NFL analysts largely agreed that adding the veteran was a solid move for Buffalo.
SB Nation’s Sean Murphy wrote, “He fits the archetype of a one-tech in head coach/defensive play-caller Sean McDermott’s defense perfectly… If he can eat blocks for 20 snaps every week, it will help Ed Oliver and Jordan Phillips to be more disruptive from the three-tech spot, and it will also help to keep linebackers Terrel Bernard and Tyrel Dodson clean.”
USA Today’s Doug Farrar posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, “The @BuffaloBills getting Linval Joseph is a nice move. Played mostly straight-up 0-tech with a little nose shade for the Eagles last season. Primarily a double-team creator for others to thrive, but can still stack-and-shed and disrupt a bit.”
Bills Placing Kaiir Elam on IR Raised Some Eyebrows
GettyBills cornerback Kaiir Elam at Gillette Stadium on October 22, 2023.
Buffalo was predicted to cut their losses and trade Elam ahead of the league deadline. After being a healthy scratch throughout the first four weeks and getting benched twice for a practice squad call-up, the writing appeared to be on the wall.
Despite head coach Sean McDermott giving no excuses for the struggling cornerback’s poor performances, Beane revealed on Wednesday that Elam was dealing with a “nagging ankle” injury, which came as a surprise.
Placing Elam on IR drew further suspicion from fans. One man posted, “What’s the IR designation for Elam, not good enough?” Another person commented, “For real, he’s a healthy scratch every week and now he’s randomly on IR after not playing????? This some Patriots behavior.”
A Bills fan posted, “The Bills pulling a page out of the Mets handbook with phantom IR stints. I love it.”
Wednesday injury report
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, McDermott backed up Beane’s statement. He said sophomore cornerback’s ankle issues “have been an ongoing thing.” Elam was listed as limited in practiced due to his ankle in Week 7. Elam was a full participant heading into Week 8.
McDermott did not say whether Elam would require surgery. “We’ll assess when his ankle is better and see where it takes us,” he said.
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Bills Shut Down 1st-Rounder, Sign Former $50 Million DT