The Buffalo Bills lost a lot when linebacker Lorenzo Alexander decided to retire following the 2019 season.
Alexander was the team’s third linebacker on paper behind Tremaine Edmunds and Matt Milano. But because of the nature of the beast, Alexander was a heck of a lot more than that for the Bills.
Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott runs a scheme which calls for plenty of nickel base, meaning two linebackers on the field. Those two players see just about every defensive snap for the Bills game in, and game out. Alexander didn’t do that, rather, he played as a third linebacker… defensive end, interior pass rusher, and even in a pass coverage role.
How do you fill those shoes? We don’t know that answer just yet and won’t until we see games without Alexander, but it doesn’t sound like AJ Klein is going to be doing all of that by himself. A former Panthers defender who played in McDermott’s scheme in Carolina, Klein signed with the Bills earlier this offseason. W
ith Edmunds and Milano still and town and his position listed as a linebacker… yes, Klein will help play the role Alexander has in years past. But when chatting via video conference on Wednesday from Bills training camp, Klein said he is not going to try to be Alexander at all.
“I don’t even try,” Klein said when asked about filling Alexander’s shoes. “I’m myself, I’ve met Lorenzo from NFLPA meetings in years past. I know the type of guy he is, I know he’s come to talk to us, he’s been at a few of our linebacker meetings over the offseason. I know he’s a tremendous player, a tremendous man… so I don’t feel any kind of pressure to fill any kind of hole or void or anything because I know who I am, who I am as a player, who I am as a person. I hope that I just fit in with the group how I fit in, I’m not trying to fill his shoes.”
That’s not to say Klein isn’t excited about joining a McDermott defense again, though.
“We know how successful [McDermott’s scheme] can be and I’ve been part of that success in Carolina. It’s a system that once you learn it, it allows you to play fast, free, and it’s… I think it allows great communication from the back seven, to the D-line, to the linebackers, it allows everybody to play fast, together. And it works, It’s tried and tested. It works,” Klein said.
Reading between the lines, expect the Bills to throw a few different faces on the field with the likes of Edmunds and Milano throughout the 2020 season to “fill” Alexander’s various roles. Along with Klein, there’s the versatile Corey Thompson and Vosean Joseph, who missed his entire rookie season in 2019. All three can help on special teams too, just like… you guess it, Zo.
But along with Alexander’s spot on the field schematically, expect the Bills to also move in a group effort in finding a new source of defensive leadership. Klein’s entering his eighth season, so he’s part of that. Now we’ll circle back to Edmunds and Milano to step up here as well. Teammates and coaches have already referenced how those two have already shown a willingness to take leadership roles this offsesaon.
“The first guy that comes to mind is just seeing Tremaine’s development in this offseason,” defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier said earlier this offseason. “This virtual offseason. Just the way he has been kind of bringing players together and talking with them, calling them, reaching out to them, going past his own position, the linebacker position.”
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