26-year old linebacker Pat Thomas has signed a 1-year deal with the Bills.  Thomas played in 12 games with the Chiefs last season and he made 48 tackles, defensed 2 passes and he had 1/2 a sack.  He has now played in 29 games in his NFL career and he has made 72 tackles, defensed 3 passes, has 1/2 a sack and he has forced 1 fumble.  The Bills hope that Thomas can help out the linebacking unit in 2009 and on special teams too.

The Bills have signed 35-year old WR Terrell Owens to a 1-year, $6.5 million dollar contract.  Owens played in all 16 games for the Cowboys last season and he caught 69 passes for 1,052 yards (15.2 avg) with 10 TD grabs.  He also carried the ball 7 times for 33 yards (4.7 ypc) last season.  Look for Owens’ presence to set Lee Evans free on the other side of the field as he has never had a talented player to take away the double team from him.  Owens has now played in 189 games in his NFL career and he has caught 951 passes for 14,122 yards (14.9 avg) with 139 TD passes.  He also has carried the ball 33 times for 197 yards (6.0 ypc) with 2 TD runs in his career.  This is a boom or bust signing for the Bills as Owens could either help them make the playoffs or destroy the team.

The Buffalo Bills did not have a very productive draft last April.  But, they hit a homer in the first round when they took cornerback Leodis McKelvin.  McKelvin played in all 16 games (6 starts) for the Bills last season and he made 32 tackles, defensed 5 passes and he had 2 interceptions (one that he returned for a TD).  While McKelvin will work his way into the starting lineup at cornerback full time as early as this season he was a terror on special teams as a rookie.  He returned 52 kickoffs for 1,468 yards (28.2 avg) with 1 TD return.  He also returned 2 punts for 26 yards (13.0 avg) last season.  2nd round pick (WR) James Hardy was a complete bust as a rookie.  He played in 14 games (3 starts) and he only caught 9 passes for 87 yards (9.7 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  He also had 1 tackle for the Bills last season.  He better get his butt into gear this season or he will be buried on the Bills’ depth chart in 2009.  3rd rounder Chris Ellis (DE) didn’t show much in his rookie campaign playing in 7 games (0 starts) and compiling a whopping 3 tackles.  4th rounder (CB) Reggie Corner proved to be a decent backup as a rookie.  He played in 12 games (2 starts) for the Bills last season and he made 22 tackles and defensed 4 passes.  Fellow 4th rounder Derek Fine (TE) got a lot of playing time but he didn’t do much with it.  He played in 10 games (5 starts) last year and he caught 10 passes for 94 yards (9.4 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Fine also made a tackle last season.  5th rounder Alvin Bowen (OLB) tore his ACL in the pre-season missing his rookie year.  Running back Xavier Omon was a 6th rounder who played in 2 games (0 starts) and he carried the ball 6 times for 5 yards (0.8 ypc).  7th rounder Demetrius Bell didn’t play as a rookie.  Fellow 7th rounder Steve Johnson (WR) showed some skill late in the season for the Bills.  He played in 11 games (1 start) as a rookie and he caught 10 passes for 102 yards (10.2 avg) with 2 TDs.  He also carried the ball 1 time for six yards and he made 3 tackles.  The Bills cut safety Kennard Cox (7th rounder) and he signed on and played in 2 games for the Jaguars.

GRADE FOR 2008:  C

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  C+

The Bills have signed 28-year old cornerback Drayton Florence to a 2-year, $6.6 million dollar contract.  Florence played in 15 games for the Jaguars last season and he made 36 tackles, defensed 3 passes and he forced 1 fumble.  He has now played in 89 games in his NFL career and he has made 273 tackles, has defensed 49 passes, forced 1 fumble and he has 10 interceptions.  This was a solid signing for the Bills.