Bills officially sign five defensive players

The Buffalo Bills were the busiest team in the National Football League on Wednesday. In addition to their trade with the Minnesota Vikings for Stefon Diggs being officially processed, the Bills signed signed five defensive players via free agency. The players were linebackers Tyler Matakevich of Stratford, Connecticut from the Pittsburgh Steelers and A.J. Klein of Appleton, Wisconsin from the New Orleans Saints, defensive tackle Vernon Butler of Pike County, Mississippi from the Carolina Panthers and defensive ends Quinton Jefferson of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from the Seattle Seahawks and Mario Addison of Birmingham, Alabama from the Panthers. Here is a look at the six free agents in order of salary. (Ironically all five players are also in alphabetical order according to their last name).

1) Mario Addison–The defensive end signed a three year contract worth $30.45 million according to Blake Schuster of Bleacher Report. At 6’3″, 255 pounds, the Bills become Addison’s fifth NFL team. In addition to the Panthers, he has played for the Chicago Bears, Indianapolis Colts and Washington Redskins. In 126 games, Addison has 51 starts, 11 forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries, 55 sacks, 222 combined tackles (136 solo tackles and 86 assisted tackles), 49 tackles for a loss, 97 quarterback hits and one safety. Addison recorded his only career safety in a 28-16 Panthers win over the San Diego Chargers on December 11, 2016.

2) Vernon Butler–The defensive tackle signed a two year contract worth $18 million, of which $9.3 million is guaranteed according to Schuster. At 6’4″, 330 pounds, Butler was the Carolina Panthers’ first round draft pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. In four seasons in Carolina, Butler played 52 games, had three forced fumbles, six sacks, 32 combined tackles (22 solo tackles and 10 assisted tackles), seven tackles for a loss and eight quarterback hits. After three seasons in a reserve role, Butler started nine games for the Panthers in 2019. He had his first career forced fumble in a 16-10 Panthers win over the Houston Texans on September 29, 2019 and then had two forced fumbles and two sacks in a 37-26 Carolina win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on October 13, 2019.

3) Quinton Jefferson–The defensive end signed a two year contract worth $13.5 million according to Corbin Smith of Sports Illustrated. At 6’4″, 290 pounds, Jefferson was considered an “underrated starter” in Seattle by Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network. In four seasons with the Seahawks, he played 39 games, started 24 games, had five forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, 7.5 sacks, 59 combined tackles (35 solo tackles and 24 assisted tackles), 10 tackles for a loss and 29 quarterback hits.

4) A.J. Klein–The Iowa State product signed a three year contract worth $18 million, of which $9.7 million is guaranteed. At 6’1″, 240 pounds, Klein has played four seasons for the Panthers and three seasons with the New Orleans Saints. In 103 NFL games, Klein has started 65 games, and had three interceptions for one touchdown, six forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, 10.5 sacks, 339 combined tackles (225 solo tackles and 114 assisted tackles), 34 tackles for a loss and 17 quarterback hits. Klein had his first NFL career touchdown in a 42-10 Saints win over the Panthers on December 29, 2019. Klein picked off a Will Grier pass for 14 yards and a major score.

5) Tyler Matakevich–The linebacker signed a two year contract worth $9 million according to Sal Capaccio of WGR 550 Sports Radio. A special teams specialist, Matakevich played the last four seasons with the Steelers. Last season he had 18 combined tackles (16 solo tackles and two assisted tackles) in 16 games. In 63 games, Matakevich has 77 tackles (62 solo tackles and 15 assisted tackles). During his college career, Matakevich was the 2015 American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year while playing at Temple University.