The Bills have signed 27-year old WR Brad Smith to a 3-year, $15 million dollar deal.  Smith played in 16 games (2 starts) for the Jets last year and he caught 4 passes for 44 yards (11.0 avg).  Smith also carried the ball 38 times for 299 yards (7.9 ypc) with 1 TD as the Jets’ Wildcat Formation QB.  He also completed 2 of 3 passes (66.7%) for 6 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs (109.7 QB Rating).  Smith is also a great kickoff returner as he returned 50 kickoffs for 1,432 yards (28.6 avg) with 2 TD returns.  Smith has now played in 76 games (17 starts) in his first five years in the NFL in which he has carried the ball 98 times for 767 yards (7.8 ypc) with 2 TD runs and he has also caught 64 passes for 557 yards (8.7 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Smith has completed 4 of 7 passes (57.1%) in his NFL career good for 51 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs (119.6 QB Rating).  Smith has also returned 2 punts for 27 yards (13.5 avg) and 74 kickoffs for 1,968 yards (26.6 avg) with 3 TD returns in his NFL career.  I like this move for a lot of reasons for the Bills.  The trick play will be in the offense now as Brad Smith can run, catch and throw the ball.  Smith.  Finally, grabbing Smith from a division rival (the Jets) hurts them.

The Buffalo Bills have signed 27-year old QB Tyler Thigpen to a 3-year contract.  Thigpen played in 3 games (1 start) for the Dolphins last year and he completed 33 of 62 passes (53.2%) for 435 yards with 2 TD passes and 2 INTs (73.0 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 13 times for 73 yards (5.6 ypc) last year.  Thigpen has now played in 22 games (12 starts) in his first four years in the NFL and he has completed 269 of 496 passes (54.2%) for 3,167 yards with 21 TD passes and 17 INTs (73.7 QB Rating).  Thipen also carried the ball 77 times for 462 yards (6.0 ypc) with 3 TD runs in his NFL career.  Thigpen is only 1-11 (8.3%) as a starting QB in the NFL.  Thigpen will be the Bills’ new #2 QB behind Ryan Fitzpatrick, and that’s not much to get excited about in Buffalo.

The Bills have re-signed 26-year old OLB Shawne Merriman to a 2-year extension.  Merriman didn’t get into any games for the Bills as he finished the year on I.R. after they claimed him.  Merriman played in 3 games (1 start) for the Chargers last year and he had 6 tackles.  Merriman has now played in 60 games (54 starts) in his first six years in the NFL and he has 231 tackles, 43.5 sacks, 15 passes defensed, 1 interception and 8 forced fumbles.  The Bills need all of the help they can get on D so it was smart to bring back Merriman if they think he can stay healthy.

The Buffalo Bills have signed 28-year old OT Erik Pears.  Pears played in 12 games (4 starts) for the Raiders last season.  He has now played in 44 games (30 starts) in his first four years in the NFL.  Pears is a big guy at 6’8″, 305 pounds and he has some experience so look for him to possibly get on the field as early as this Sunday for the Bills.

The Bills have signed 26-year old RB Quinton Ganther.  Ganther played in 3 games earlier this year for the Seahawks but he didn’t touch the ball.  He has played in 26 games in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 71 times for 262 yards (3.7 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  He also has caught 15 passes for 142 yards (9.5 avg) in his NFL career.  Ganther will likely provide help on special teams and depth at running back for the Bills.

The Bills have signed 30-year old linebacker Akin Ayodele.  Ayodele played in 16 games for the Dolphins last season and he had 71 tackles and 1 forced fumble.  He has now played in 128 games in his 8 years in the NFL and he has 630 tackles, 23 passes defensed, 9.5 sacks, 9 forced fumbles and he has 7 interceptions.  The Bills were lucky to find a guy like Ayodele still looking for a job.

The Bills have signed 31-year old TE David Martin.  Martin did not play in any games last season as he was injured.  He has played in 101 games (43 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 152 passes for 1,519 yards (10.0 avg) with 14 TD grabs.  This was a solid signing for the Bills who are thin at TE right now.  Martin is a solid receiver so Trent Edwards might be looking his way quite a bit in 2010.

The Bills have signed 28-year old TE John Paul Foschi.  Foschi played in 15 games (10 starts) for the Bengals last season and he caught 27 passes for 260 yards (9.6 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  He has now played in 33 games (15 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 33 passes for 297 yards (9.0 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  This was a good signing for the Bills as Foschi played pretty well for the Bengals last year.

The Bills have signed 29-year old linebacker Reggie Torbor.  Torbor played in all 16 games for the Dolphins last year and he had 37 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, 1 sack, he defensed 4 passes and he had 1 interception.  Torbor has now played in 94 games in his NFL career and he has 200 tackles, he has defensed 9 passes, has 6.5 sacks, he has forced 4 fumbles and he has 2 interceptions.  This was a solid pickup for the Bills who could use some help at linebacker and on special teams.

The Bills have signed 24-year old RB/KR Chad Simpson.  Simpson played in 14 games for the Colts last season in which he carried the ball 15 times for 102 yards (6.8 ypc) with 2 TD runs and he also caught 3 passes for 1 yard (0.3 avg).  Simpson also returned 38 kickoffs for 898 yards (23.6 avg) with 1 TD return last season.  Simpson has now played in 25 games in his 2 years in the NFL appearing in 25 games in which he carried the ball 30 times for 147 yards (4.9 ypc) and he has caught 6 passes for 31 yards (5.2 avg).  Simpson has also returned 53 kickoffs for 1,242 yards (23.4 avg) with 1 TD return in his career thus far.  I think the signing of Simpson will remove the temptation of the Bills to use C.J. Spiller as a kickoff returner.