The Bills continue to be active in the post-draft free-agent market. Buffalo announced on Friday that the previously reported agreement with linebacker Deion Jones has become official. The team has also added wideout Chase Claypool as well as defensive end Dawuane Smoot. All three players are attached to one-year deals.
Claypool showcased considerable potential during his first two seasons in the league. Operating as a key member of the Steelers offense, the former second-rounder posted 1,845 combined yards and 13 total touchdowns between the 2020 and ’21 campaigns. Things have not gone according to plan since, however, with a trade to the Bears in 2022 not producing the desired impact.
Claypool made just 18 catches in 10 games with Chicago, and he was on the move once again this year when he was traded to the Dolphins. The 25-year-old Canadian’s Miami stint produced only four receptions in nine games, and the team is in the market for a WR3 upgrade. Claypool visited the Seahawks in April, but to little surprise that did not yield a pre-draft agreement. Buffalo will bring him in ahead of offseason practices and training camp and, in doing so, provide him the opportunity to carve out a roster spot.
The Bills’ receiver room looks much different. Gabe Davis departed in free agency prior to the trade that sent Stefon Diggs to the Texans. Buffalo traded down to the No. 33 spot in the draft and used that pick on Keon Coleman. The team followed up that move by signing Quintez Cephus. Claypool will compete with the latter for a depth spot in the receiver pecking order this summer.
Smoot is likewise headed to Buffalo not long after meeting with another team. The 29-year-old recently visited the Texans, but he will instead look to earn a roster spot with the Bills. Smoot delivered a strong outing in 2021 (10 starts, six sacks), but an Achilles tear suffered the following year hurt his market value. Playing out a one-year deal last season, he posted just one sack while logging a rotational defensive role.
Buffalo has Von Miller on the books through 2027, and the team recently retained both A.J. Epenesa and Greg Rousseau. The former re-signed on a two-year deal before the latter had his 2025 fifth-year option picked up. Smoot will look to earn a complementary place behind those three returnees in Buffalo this season, his first spent outside of Jacksonville.
The Bills entered Friday with only $2.8M in cap space, much of which will be needed to sign their rookie class. While none of the Jones, Claypool or Smoot deals will be particularly lucrative, they will nevertheless use up much of the team’s remaining financial resources available until the post-June 1 release of Tre’Davious White frees up more spending power.
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