The Buffalo Bills need to fill a massive hole on their defense, as Tremaine Edmunds officially left the team at the start of the free agency period. Edmunds, who started 74 games in five seasons in Buffalo, was a central figure for the Bills defense.
Edmunds, who signed with the Chicago Bears, improved quite a bit since the Bills drafted him in the first round of the 2018 draft. There were some growing pains as Edmunds, one of the youngest players in the league to take the field during his rookie season, developed into a defensive stalwart.
Edmunds did a little bit of everything well on defense for the Bills. He turned his progress as a young star into a four-year, $72 million contract from the Bears.
Now, Buffalo faces a challenge that they have not had to worry about during the Sean McDermott era: Replace a central figure whom the team developed. Edmunds’ athleticism and ability to read opponents will be missed.
The Bills can move in several different directions with how to fill this void on the defense. Here’s breaking down three of those: