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The Bills have signed 26-year old WR David Clowney to a reserve/future contract. Clowney last played in the NFL in 2010 with the Jets & Panthers. He has played in 28 games in his first three years in the NFL and he has caught 22 passes for 341 yards (15.5 avg) with 1 TD grab. He has also returned 3 kickoffs for 81 yards (27.0 avg) and he has carried the ball 3 times for 1 yard (0.3 ypc). Clowney will have a good shot to make the Bills in 2012.
The Bills have placed 29-year old kicker Dave Rayner on the Injured Reserve List, ending this season due to a groin injury. Rayner played in 7 games for the Bills this year and he made 10 of 15 field goals (66.7%) and all 13 of his extra points as he finished the season with 43 points for the Bills. The Bills have signed 27-year old kicker Brandon Coutu to kick for the Bills this weekend against the Patriots. He was a 7th round pick by the Seahawks in the 2008 NFL Draft, but he has yet to play in a regular season game in his career so far.
The Bills have signed 25-year old TE Fendi Onobun off of the Jacksonville Jaguars’ practice squad. Onobun played in 1 game for the Jaguars this year but he didn’t catch any passes. Onobun has now played in 4 games in his first two years in the NFL and he has caught 2 passes for 15 yards (7.5 avg). The Bills are hurting at TE with Scott Chandler a little banged up, so this signing makes perfect sense for them.
The Bills have signed 27-year old WR Derek Hagan. Hagan played in 6 games for the Raiders earlier this year and he caught 11 passes for 114 yards (10.4 avg). He has now played in 65 games in his first six years in the NFL and he has caught 96 passes for 1,083 yards (11.3 avg) with 5 TD grabs. Hagan will give the Bills a solid WR with good hands.
The Buffalo Bills have signed 29-year old kicker Dave Rayner. Rayner played in 1 game earlier this year for the Raiders, but they got shut out, so all he did was kickoff. Rayner has now played in 52 games in his first six years in the NFL and he has connected on 55 of 75 field goals (73.3%). He has also made 64 of 65 extra points as he has scored 229 points so far in his NFL career. The Bills hope that Rayner does a good job while Rian Lindell is out of action.
The Bills have re-signed 27-year old cornerback Reggie Corner and they have placed 22-year old rookie LB Robert Eddins on I.R. (foot). Corner played in all 16 games for the Bills last year and he had 25 tackles, 1 sack and 5 passes defensed. He has played in 44 games in his first three years with the Bills and he has 114 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery, 18 passes defensed and 1 interception. The Bills needed help in the secondary due to Terrence McGee’s injury, so they were lucky that Corner was still available. Robert Eddins worked his butt off to make the Bills’ opening day roster as a undrafted rookie out of Ball State, so this is quite some bad luck for him. He played in the season opener against the Chiefs but he didn’t have any tackles.
The Bills have signed 29-year old linebacker Kirk Morrison. Morrison played in all 16 games for the Jaguars last year and he had 89 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 4 tackles for a loss. He has now played in 96 games in his first six years in the NFL and he has 721 tackles, 41 tackles for a loss, 5 sacks, 6 forced fumbles, 5 fumble recoveries, 20 passes defensed and 7 interceptions. The Bills needed more toughness against the run and Morrison will help them with that in 2011.
The Bills have signed 29-year old WR Ruvell Martin. Martin played in 5 games (0 starts) for the Seahawks last year and he caught 7 passes for 158 yards (22.6 avg) with 1 TD grab. He has now played in 54 games (9 starts) in his first five years in the NFL and he has caught 65 passes for 1,006 yards (15.5 avg) with 7 TD grabs in his NFL career. The Bills need depth at WR, so I like this signing for them.
UPDATE: (9/6/2011) – The Bills have released Ruvell Martin.
UPDATE: (9/13/2011) – The Bills have re-signed Ruvell Martin.
The Bills have signed 25-year old WR Craig Davis. Davis played in 7 games (1 start) for the Chargers last year and he caught 21 passes for 259 yards (12.3 avg) with 1 TD grab. He has now played in 26 games (2 starts) in his first four years in the NFL and he has caught 51 passes for 558 yards (10.9 avg) with 2 TD grabs. Davis has also carried the ball 4 times for 13 yards (3.3 ypc) in his NFL career so far. Davis will likely battle for the #4 WR job in training camp. This will be a nice pickup for the Bills if Davis can just stay healthy.
The Bills have signed 30-year old linebacker Nick Barnett to a 3-year, $12 million dollar deal. Burnett played in 4 games for the Packers last year and he had 24 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and 1 pass defensed. He has now played in 107 games in his first 8 years in the NFL and he has 787 tackles, 41 tackles for a loss, 15.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 7 fumble recoveries, 37 passes defensed and 9 interceptions (0ne returned for a TD). Barnett will be expected to replace Paul Poslusny who left the Bills to sign with the Jaguars. If Barnett can stay healthy, I think he will probably lead the team in tackles in 2011.