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Published By: Sports Desk
Last Updated: March 29, 2024, 12:00 AM IST
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The Buffalo Bills replenished their depleted defensive line needs by signing tackles Austin Johnson and DeShawn Williams to one-year contracts on Thursday.
ORCHARD PARK, NY: The Buffalo Bills replenished their depleted defensive line needs by signing tackles Austin Johnson and DeShawn Williams to one-year contracts on Thursday.
Johnson, 29, has eight seasons of NFL experience, including the last two with the Los Angeles Chargers where he started all 17 games last season. He is listed at 6-foot-4 and 314 pounds and was selected by the Tennessee Titans in the second round of the 2016 draft.
Overall, Johnson has two forced fumbles, eight sacks and 17 tackles for loss in 116 games, including 55 starts, which included a two-year stint with the New York Giants.
Williams, 31, spent last season making 10 starts in 16 games with Carolina in an NFL career that has taken a circuitous path since being signed by the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent in 2015.
After appearing in four games with the Bengals in 2016, Williams spent the next three years as a practice squad player with Denver, Miami and Indianapolis – along with an unsuccessful bid to play in the CFL once his 2020 season is canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic – before resuming his NFL career with the Broncos in 2020. Overall, he has nine sacks, 11 tackles for losses and an interception in 66 games, including 44 starts.
The two are starting to form a defensive front that lost regulars Linval Joseph, Tim Settle and Poona Ford to free agency, and Jordan Phillips is considering retirement.
Both are expected to fill backup roles behind Ed Oliver and DaQuan Jones, who are reunited with Johnson after both played at Penn State.
Speaking at the NFL owners meetings this week, general manager Brandon Beane re-emphasized the priority he places on his offensive and defensive fronts even if it means cutting into the team’s limited salary cap space .
“We’re always going to look there. And if we’re going to stretch ourselves financially, that’s where I’m always going to do it,” Beane said. “I’m never going to hold back if it’s something I think can get us over the top.”
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – Associated Press)
