The Buffalo Bills released defensive tackle Alan Branch after he was arrested Saturday for drunk driving, per Jay Skurski at The Buffalo News. The release comes just months after the team signed him to a three-year contract that would have paid over $9 million if played in full. Branch had missed the team’s preseason game at home against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers over the weekend following the arrest.
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According to the report, Branch “was seen vomiting out the driver’s side door of his vehicle.” He failed a field sobriety test and was found to have a .14 percent blood-alcohol content level.
While it’s hard to believe the Bills would cut Branch after signing the promising tackle to a three-year deal on the heels of a solid year rotating through Buffalo’s stalwart defensive line, Skurski writes that Branch was asking for it all summer.
"After signing a three-year contract extension in December – and pocketing a $3.1 million signing bonus – Branch skipped all of voluntary offseason workouts. He reported to training camp last month out of shape and was placed on the active/non-football illness list. That seemed to place Branch firmly in Marrone’s doghouse. During the first three preseason games, Branch was with the third team, playing deep into the fourth quarter."
A sloppy, difficult preseason now continues for the Bills, who have yet to find a successful balance in August, going 1-3 in their exhibition season. While the starting defensive line has looked mostly sharp in training camp, depth is always an issue in the NFL and the Bills have now lost some of what they had last season in that regard. If the team is to repeat its stellar output on defense last year, they will need an unknown to step up in Branch’s place.