The NFL’s legal tampering period opened on Monday. That means teams can officially talk to and offer contracts to pending free agents from other teams now.
This doesn’t mean players couldn’t talk to each other prior to Monday, and Bills safety Jordan Poyer took advantage of that.
During an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show last week, Poyer said that he’s working out with a couple of free agents this offseason, defensive end Carlos Dunlap and cornerback Xavier Rhodes. He also admitted he has put on his recruitment hat while with them.
“There’s a bunch of guys I train with down there. Carlos Dunlap is down there and I was actually trying to recruit him down there last week,” Poyer said. “Xavier Rhodes is down there and been trying to talk in his ear a little bit. Guys are just trying to enjoy the offseason and the business side will handle the business side when that side comes.”
In terms of actual need, both players are intriguing options for the Bills to consider.
Dunlap, 32, is already a free agent. He was a Seahawks cap casualty last week and can sign with a new team at any time.
In 15 games with the Seahawks and Bengals last season, Dunlap had six sacks. Not a large number, but that still would have led the Bills. Pro Football Focus gave Dunlap a pass-rush grade of 62.3, as well. PFF did credit Dunlap with an impressive 13 QB pressures in the Seahawks’ final three games last season.
Pass rush is an area that Buffalo should focus on improving ahead of next season. As a team, the Bills only had 38 sacks last season.
Dunlap could be added as a rotational piece to Buffalo’s defensive line rotation and perhaps the salary cap space made via Mario Addison’s contract restructure last week would allow the Bills an ability to add him.
Rhodes, 30, signed a one-year deal with the Colts last offseason after spending seven years with the Vikings. Previously a top cornerback, Rhodes’ play dropped off with the Vikes. Still, the Bills have had a thing for adding veteran stopgaps at their No. 2 cornerback spot in recent seasons, such as Josh Norman.
In 2020, PFF graded Rhodes an impressive 76.3 overall mark, so he did bounce back. Overall, Rhodes had 42 total tackles, 12 passes defended, and two interceptions for the Colts last year.
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