The Buffalo Bills continued to replenish the interior of their defensive line Thursday.
Buffalo signed defensive tackle DeShawn Williams to a one-year contract. The 31-year-old has played for six teams since entering the league as an undrafted free agent, most recently with the Carolina Panthers.
Williams appeared in just four games during his first five NFL seasons, before becoming a starter for the Denver Broncos in 2020. Since then, Williams has started 34 of 62 games, including 10 last season.
The 6-foot-1, 295-pounder has nine sacks and 11 tackles for a loss during his career, with a personal-best 4 ½ sacks with the Broncos in 2022. He tallied 33 tackles, seven quarterback hits and one sack last year.
A day after the Bills officially announced the signing of Austin Johnson to be the primary backup for DaQuan Jones, Williams fits more into the role of Ed Oliver’s backup at 3-technique. A chunk of his career has been spent in 3-4 defenses, where he has flipped between defensive end and defensive tackle, but 57% of his career snaps have come as 3-technique defensive tackle, where he’s more likely to play in Buffalo’s four-man front.