Veteran wide receiver among three players signed by Buffalo Bills: What to know

In a strategy that he employed last season, Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane is working the second and third tier of free agency to fill in the 2024 roster.

That process continued Thursday night with the signing of linebacker Deion Jones, and it continued Friday morning with the signing of wide receiver Chase Claypool and edge rusher Dawuane Smoot.

If you remember, after the initial jump into the 2023 free agent pool when he signed players like Connor McGovern, Deonte Harty, and Trent Sherfield, among others, Beane dove back in right after the draft and signed Latavius Murray, Poona Ford, and Leonard Floyd among others.

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He’s back at it with these three signings as he tries to add competition to a roster in the hope that one, or all, can find a spot on the team.

How Chase Claypool fits with the Buffalo Bills

Claypool is the most interesting player, of course. The former second-round draft pick by the Steelers in 2020 just hasn’t been able to become a consistent producer, not with the Steelers, not with the Bears who he was traded to in 2022, and not with the Dolphins where he was traded in 2023.

Claypool is a massive target at 6-foot-4 and 238 pounds, but he has not been able to utilize that size and has just 175 career receptions for 2,261 yards and 13 TDs. His best two seasons were his first two with Pittsburgh when he caught 62 and 59 passes and totaled 11 touchdowns, but Mike Tomlin grew tired of his inconsistency and moved on. With the Bears and Dolphins, he was a non-factor.

Of course, there was much consternation among the fan base regarding Beane drafting only Keon Coleman in the second round last week. Since the draft, in addition to adding Claypool, he also signed veteran Quintez Cephus, formerly of the Lions, and he added undrafted free agent Xavier Johnson from Ohio State. Claypool would seem to have the best chance of that group to make a push for a roster spot.

How Dawuane Smoot fits with the Bills

Smoot is a 6-3, 275-pound 2017 third-round pick of the Jaguars and he has spent his entire seven-year career in Jacksonville. He has 23.5 sacks (ninth-most in Jaguars history), 64 QB hits, five forced fumbles, two recoveries and five deflected passes.

If he still has something left at 29 years old, he should be able to push for a roster spot in an area where the Bills have questionable depth behind key starts Greg Rousseau and A.J. Epenesa with Von Miller, Casey Toohill, Kingsley Jonathan and rookie fifth-round pick Javon Solomon.

How Deion Jones fits with the Buffalo Bills

Jones was a 2016 second-round pick of the Falcons who spent his first six seasons in Atlanta, then played for the Browns in 2022 and the Panthers in 2023. He has amassed 731 tackles, 12 sacks, 13 interceptions (five of which he returned for TDs), five forced fumbles and two recoveries.

Jones will jump into the mix at backup linebacker with Dorian Williams, Nicholas Morrow, Baylon Spector and rookie fifth-round pick Edufuan Ulofoshio.

Sal Maiorana can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @salmaiorana. To subscribe to Sal's newsletter, Bills Blast, which comes out every other Friday during the offseason, please follow this link: https://profile.democratandchronicle.com/newsletters/bills-blast

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Buffalo Bills sign Chase Claypool, Dawuane Smoot, Deion Jones