The Buffalo Bills added some size and experience to their edge rushing group.
The team announced that they signed former Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Rams defensive end Justin Hollins. The 6-foot-5 defensive end is a former Super Bowl champion with plenty of experience and is expected to compete for a reserve position with the team.
New Bills Player Has Super Bowl Pedigree
The Bills cleared the way to add Hollins by releasing Kameron Cline, who had signed with the team just days prior. Cline spent time with the Bills in the 2023 and 2024 seasons, but couldn’t stick around to the start of the preseason in his third stint with the team.
The Bills instead added the seven-year pro Hollins, who came into the league as a fifth-round pick of the Denver Broncos in 2019. Hollins has appeared in 67 career games, though did not play in the 2024 season. He won a Super Bowl with the Rams in 2021, appearing in the big game and making one tackle.
As SI.com’s Ralph Ventre noted, Hollins could get some significant opportunities in the preseason as the Bills go easy on their veteran players.
“Although he’s the quintessential roster longshot, Hollins will seemingly see a healthy share of live preseason game action,” Ventre wrote. “The Bills are likely to strictly limit exhibition snaps for [Joey] Bosa, [Gregory] Rousseau and [A.J.] Epenesa in an attempt to keep them fresh for the regular season.”
Hollins could also have a big opportunity to make the roster, if only for the early part of the season. Two of the team’s big free agency additions to the defensive line — Michael Hoecht and Larry Ogunjobi — were handed six-game suspensions by the NFL for violating the league’s rules against performance-enhancing drugs.
Big Opportunity for Rookie Edge Rusher
While the top of the edge-rushing depth chart is likely set, the Bills do have some room for movement below that. Rookie Landon Jackson has made a big impression so far in training camp, earning strong reviews for his play as well as his size.
As SI.com’s Kent Smith noted, Jackson was so big that reporters thought he was already wearing pads the first time he showed up for practice.
“His neck now resembles a tree trunk and his shoulders send sleeves hiding in fear of the torture they are about to face if he tries to put them on,” Smith wrote. “In fact, his shoulders have filled out so well that local reporters in Buffalo thought he was wearing shoulder pads at first glance during drills.”
Jackson told GNN Sports at training camp that the NFL is a lot different than college, but he believes he’s up to the task.
“Guys are definitely a lot stronger,” Jackson said. “Every practice feels like a game day. You got guys out here competing for their livelihood. This is their job and definitely don’t want to lose that job. You got guys out here who have to put food on the table for their kids and have other people to look after as well.”
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Bills Add Super Bowl Champion DE Days Before Preseason Begins appeared first on Heavy Sports.