Greg Rousseau challenges external narrative surrounding Bills offseason

Buffalo Bills first-round defensive end Greg Rousseau highlighted the team's continuity on the defensive front.

Nov 26, 2023; Philadelphia, PA; Buffalo Bills defensive end Greg Rousseau (50) against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. / Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

The Buffalo Bills parted ways with a handful of aging veterans this past offseason, inspiring a media narrative that the cupboard is lacking in Orchard Park.

Buffalo will have new starters at safety and a few more on the offensive side of the ball, but the team's core remains intact. Issuing a reminder that the Bills feature plenty of familiar faces on their defensive front, Greg Rousseau highlighted his fellow returnees along the line.

"We still got our core group - me, Ed [Oliver], AJ [Epenesa], DQ [DaQuan Jones]. We still got a lot of guys, Von [Miller], that were kind of like that core before," said Rousseau during an appearance on One Bills Live with host Chris Brown.

Rousseau and Epenesa have each accounted for 13.0 sacks apiece over the last two years. The former is a three-year starter while the latter has made 58 appearances as a rotational player. The 35-year-old Miller will look to regain his 2022 pre-injury form that yielded 8.0 sacks in his first 10 games as a Bill.

Meanwhile, Oliver and Jones have started together on the interior each of the last two seasons.

"We added some pieces obviously, but we still got a lot of dudes who kind of know about our d-line culture that we built up here. We still try to keep that same high standard, and all the new guys have really fit in pretty well," said Rousseau, a 2021 first-round draft pick that saw Buffalo pick up his fifth-year option this past spring.

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The Bills notably added former Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Dawuane Smoot and Los Angeles Chargers interior lineman Austin Johnson. It shouldn't take long for Johnson and Jones to sync up, considering the two men were teammates in college at Penn State and again as pros with the Tennessee Titans.

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