The Buffalo Bills secured depth for their linebacker and special teams corps on Tuesday, as they announced the re-signing of linebacker Tyrel Dodson to a one-year deal.
Dodson has now carved out a solid role for himself on one of the league's premier teams despite going undrafted out of Texas A&M in 2018. But since joining the Bills in 2019, he's appeared in 42 games while finding ways to impact the game in multiple areas.
In his three-year career, Dodson has recorded 69 total tackles, two sacks, one fumble recovery and two passes defended. He's also added 11 special teams tackles.
It likely went unnoticed, but Dodson made a critical fumble recovery in Buffalo's AFC Wild Card win over the Miami Dolphins this past season, though it brought more of a sigh of relief than excitement since it wasn't the opponent who fumbled.
With the Bills leading 27-24 near the end of the third quarter in that game, the Dolphins punted after a short, four-play drive. However, Buffalo running back Nyheim Hines fumbled the punt, potentially giving Miami a new chance at life with excellent field position.
Luckily, Dodson was there to recover the fumble, and the Bills made the most of it. Buffalo scored a touchdown on the ensuing drive to build a 34-24 lead, which proved to be the difference. Miami found the end zone to cut the lead back to three at 34-31, but both offenses stalled as this ended up being the final score of a Bills playoff win.
All this goes to say that while re-signing Dodson is far from the sexiest deal the Bills could make this offseason, he's proven his value even when it doesn't make the highlights.
You can follow Zach Dimmitt on Twitter at @ZachDimmitt7
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