NFL free agency update: Star Lotulelei signs with Bills
The Buffalo Bills are adding standout defensive tackle Star Lotulelei. What should we expect from the five-year defender with his new team?
This past season, the Buffalo Bills ended the league’s longest active playoff drought by reaching the postseason for the first time since 1999. But Sean McDermott’s club lasted only one game thanks to a frustrating 10-3 road loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
In any case, you have to crawl before you can walk. And the team has already been very active this offseason when it comes to improvements. And now new general manager Brandon Beane has hauled in a very familiar face in defensive tackle Star Lotulelei.
The former University of Utah standout and 14th overall pick in the 2013 NFL Draft missed only one game and made 75 regular-season starts for Ron Rivera’s club in Carolina. He’s started all 16 contests each of the past two years and is one of the better run-stoppers around. And that’s very good news for a Buffalo Bills’ defensive unit that could use all the help it can get in that regard.
Contract details
The five-year defender, a first-round draft choice of the Carolina Panthers in 2013, agreed to a five-year contract with the Bills. Terms of the deal were undisclosed at the moment.
National reaction
Former Panthers’ DT Star Lotulelei intends to sign a 5-year deal with the Buffalo Bills when free agency opens, source tells ESPN.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 13, 2018
The Bills are expected to sign former Panthers DT Star Lotulelei to a five-year deal when free agency opens Wednesday, a source told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter. Lotulelei played for Bills coach Sean McDermott in Carolina. Buffalo had a need at... https://t.co/02hSPKMvOV
— Mike Rodak (@mikerodak) March 13, 2018
Bills bringing nose tackle Star Lotulelei to Carolina North https://t.co/0oBtoe8eHL
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) March 13, 2018
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Grade
It’s an immediate upgrade for a defensive unit that has allowed the fourth-most rushing yards in the league in each of the past two seasons and under two different systems. This past year, the defense got off to a good start against the run but things appeared to go downhill rapidly once the Bills opted to deal Marcell Dareus.
In this case, Lotulelei played in McDermott’s system for five seasons in Carolina and the learning curve should be non-existent. That being said, this is a player that must improve his performance.
Grade: B+