The Buffalo Bills defense that trudged off the field in Kansas City following a desultory overtime playoff loss will have a decidedly different look the next time they take the field for any kind of game.
In a span of less than 24 hours since the official start of the NFL's new league year on Wednesday afternoon, the Bills have said goodbye to defensive tackles Harrison Phillips, Vernon Davis and Justin Zimmer and defensive ends Jerry Hughes, Mario Addison and Efe Obada and said hello to defensive tackles Tim Settle, DaQuan Jones and Jordan Phillips and defensive ends Von Miller and Shaq Lawson.
Phillips and Lawson are back for second stints as the Bills seek more firepower against the run as well as the pass.
The dizzying array of moves was highlighted by the surprising addition of Miller, the perennial All-Pro who has 115.5 career sacks and wasn't linked by anyone to the Bills as a free-agent match.
The Bills also lost starting cornerback Levi Wallace to free agency and jettisoned valued third linebacker A.J. Klein in a cost-cutting move that ultimately helped clear the way for them to sign Miller.
What they believe they're getting is a higher overall upside, especially when it comes to rushing the passer. And the statistics back them up.
Settle had a career-best 5.0 sacks while playing just 33% of the snaps for Washington in 2020.
Lawson's career high of 6.5 sacks came with the Bills in 2019 as a rotational player off the bench. That same season, Phillips came through with his career high of 9.5 with the Bills. Neither one was retained in 2020, however.
And then there's Miller, who missed all of 2020 with a serious ankle injury but came back to deliver 9.5 sacks in the 2021 regular season (split between the Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Rams) and 4.0 more in the playoffs, including two in the second Super Bowl-winning performance of his career.
Needless to say, this new group at its best is better at getting to the quarterback than the previous group at its best.
Although the Bills finished last season with the top-ranked defense in the NFL, general manager Brandon Beane and coach Sean McDermott knew they had to get better. What has happened in this new league year, starting with Miller, is the result.
"We always learn from every season," McDermott said, "and you look at the last few games of the season every year, and that, to me, is a barometer of where you're at and where you need to go. And so we just felt like we needed that.
"... This was an opportunity for us to get our hands on ... Von, and it's not every year you have a chance to get a player like this at that position in particular. So we were fortunate that the time was right for us and for him."
The Bills aren't done here, either. They have decisions to make at cornerback and with the linebacking depth, both of which are expected to be addressed in next month's NFL Draft. They'll continue with free agency too.
Should be interesting to see what comes next.
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