Bills Central

Bills officially sign two familiar DTs after releases from former teams

The Buffalo Bills have officially signed defensive tackles Jordan Phillips and Quinton Jefferson.

Kyle Silagyi

Shawn Dowd / USA TODAY NETWORK
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The Buffalo Bills have bolstered the interior of their defensive line with some familiar faces, signing defensive tackles Jordan Phillips and Quinton Jefferson on Wednesday morning. Phillips and Jefferson were released by the Dallas Cowboys and Cleveland Browns, respectively, on Tuesday afternoon.

The tour of One Bills Drive shouldn’t be an exhaustive one for either veteran, as both defenders have played for Buffalo in the past. This will actually be Phillips’ third stint with the club; a former second-round pick of the Miami Dolphins, he was first claimed off waivers by Buffalo early in the 2018 season. He would stay with the Bills through the 2019 season and consistently flashed, particularly impressing with his breakout 9.5 sack 2019 campaign. His stellar play that season landed him a three-year, $30 million contract with the Arizona Cardinals in the subsequent spring; he recorded just five sacks for the NFC West club over two seasons before being released in March of 2022.

Eager to again prove himself with a team he was comfortable with, Phillips re-signed with Buffalo after his Arizona release, recording 35 tackles and four sacks throughout the 2022 and 2023 seasons with the Bills. He spent part of the 2024 offseason with the New York Giants before being traded to the Cowboys, where he underwhelmed to the tune of one tackle in two regular season appearances.

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Jefferson’s time with the Bills did not overlap with that of Phillips, as he spent only the 2020 season in Orchard Park. He recorded 23 tackles, three sacks, and 30 pressures (per PFF) in his short Buffalo stint as he played on roughly 50% of the team’s defensive snaps. He’s bounced around since that campaign, playing for the Las Vegas Raiders in 2021, Seattle Seahawks in 2022, New York Jets in 2023, and Cleveland in 2024. He had recorded six tackles for the Browns in five appearances prior to his Tuesday release.

Quinton Jefferso
Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Both Phillips, 32, and Jefferson, 31, are reliable veterans who have experience in Buffalo’s defensive scheme, so they should be able to make impacts relatively quickly. The Bills also needed help in the middle of their defensive line, as the team’s defensive tackles have combined for only three sacks through nine games while the general defense is allowing opposing running backs to pick up an average of 4.8 yards per carry. Given the lackluster play and the multi-week injury of rookie DeWayne Carter, defensive tackle was a major deficiency for Buffalo, and it’s addressed the hole with these signings.

The Bills had two available roster spots after placing Dawuane Smoot on injured reserve and releasing Mike Edwards on Tuesday, so the team won’t have to make any corresponding releases after these signings.

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Kyle Silagyi
KYLE SILAGYI

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