This season, the Buffalo Bills have Dion Dawkins and Spencer Brown as their starting tackles. Backup Brandon Shell retired and their depth at tackle quickly was unfavorable. On Wednesday, reports said that the Bills had veteran Germain Ifedi in for a visit.
The NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport tweeted that the Bills were signing Ifedi to their 53-man roster for the 2023 season. Ifedi played in all 17 games for the Atlanta Falcons last season but made zero starts. He was with Detroit for the preseason. However, the 29-year-old did not make their roster. Buffalo’s GM Brandon Beane acted quickly by signing Ifedi as veteran depth this season.
Germain Ifedi will be playing for his fourth team in the last five seasons as a member of the Bills in 2023
Veteran OT Germain Ifedi, who visited the #Bills today, is expected to sign to their 53-man roster, source said. Ifedi has made 83 starts in his career and the former first-rounder most recently was with the #Falcons.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 30, 2023
In the 2016 NFL Draft, Germain Ifedi was taken 31st overall by the Seattle Seahawks. He started his career at RG for the Seahawks and made 13 starts as a rookie. Over his next three seasons with Seattle, Ifedi was moved to RT and made another 47 starts. After that, Idefi signed with Chicago in 2020 and played two seasons for them. The Texas A&M alumni started all 23 games he played in for the Bears.
Last season, Ifedi was with the Falcons. He was limited to only a handful of snaps, but did appear in 72 special teams snaps in 2022. The 29-year-old was with the Detroit Lions during the preseason. Ifedi was cut by the Lions on August 27th and didn’t have to wait long for a new team. His seven-year career in the NFL has proven that he’s a reliable backup that can be plugged into the starting lineup if needed.
OT Germain Ifedi, who visited the #Bills today, is expected to sign to their 53-man roster. #BillsMafia pic.twitter.com/nW9XPmvQKa
— Built in Buffalo (@BuiltInBuffalo_) August 30, 2023
Brandon Beane wanted at least one reliable vet for depth at tackle this season. They thought Brandon Shell would play that role for them, but he unexpectedly retired about two weeks ago. Ryan Van Demark and Alec Anderson were the backups for Dion Dawkins and Spencer Brown. Germain Ifedi is a proven player compared to Van Demark and Anderson. Buffalo hopes Dawkins and Brown stay healthy so that they don’t have to turn to a backup for a large portion of the season.
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