Tag: Eli Ankou

Bills sign 13 players to reserve/future contracts

Full list:

(Update 1/24, 6:30 p.m.): The Bills have also signed QB Shane Buechele to a reserve/future contract:

Previous coverage: 

The Buffalo Bills had inked 11 players to reserve/future contracts earlier this week. Then on Tuesday, two more were added to the bunch.

A reserve/future contract guarantees that a player cannot be signed by another team. The deal goes into effect once the new league year begins and will count towards the next season’s salary cap and 90-man roster for the offseason and training camp.

Of the 13, 11 were on the team’s practice squad during the 2023 season. Two of them, wide receiver KJ Hamler and safety Kendall Williamson, were not.

Here’s the full list of the 13 players the Bills have signed to reserve/future deals:

Bills bring AJ Klein back to practice squad ahead of Steelers matchup

#Bills bring AJ Klein back to practice squad ahead of #Steelers matchup:

The Buffalo Bills have signed linebacker AJ Klein to their practice squad ahead of facing the Miami Dolphins in the NFL’s Wild-Card round.

Klein was previously with the Bills (11-6) earlier this season, spending time on both the 53-man roster and practice squad.

In a corresponding move, Buffalo released defensive tackle Eli Ankou from the taxi unit.

Klein being brought back has added some question into the status of another player: Linebacker Tyrel Dodson. Listed on the injury report this week due to a shoulder injury he sustained in Week 18 against the Miami Dolphins, is Klein’s addition indicative of Dodson potentially not playing? Or just a precaution?

If Buffalo decided to call Klein or another linebacker up from their practice squad on Saturday prior to Sunday’s Steelers matchup, that would mean Dodson is likely not playing.

Bills Wire will provide updates as information is made available.

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Buffalo Bills sign Eli Ankou to practice squad again

Ankou back with the #Bills:

The Buffalo Bills have signed defensive tackle Eli Ankou to the practice squad–A very familiar face has returned.

Ankou has had previous stints with the Bills (4-3). Most recently, Ankou was in Buffalo during training camp over the summer and was on the team’s practice squad after being part of final roster cuts.

Initially, Ankou joined the team in 2021 during training camp but was released. He returned later that season where he stuck around on the practice squad through earlier this year.

This month, Ankou was signed by the Atlanta Falcons off Buffalo’s practice squad. He was released this week and even teased he was going to return:

The 29-year-old is a signing that makes sense for the team because of their recent lack of depth at the position. The Bills have lost DaQuan Jones (pectoral) for an extended period and Ed Oliver (toe) did not play last week. Throughout the current week, even Jordan Phillips (back) has been on the injury report as well.

With Ankou’s familiarity with the defensive system Sean McDermott’s defense runs, there is a possibility he’s brought up from the practice squad immediately to face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-3) on Thursday.

Ankou had previously appeared in five games for Buffalo, recording one sack and nine tackles in those outings. In his career, he has 2.5 sacks.

Bills Wire will provide updates if further updates become available.

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Buffalo Bills 2023 practice squad tracker

Full #Bills practice squad tracker right here:

The Buffalo Bills and rest of the NFL have put together their initial 53-man roster. That means more than 1,000 players had either been outright released or placed on waivers.

For those who fell between the cracks, up to 16 of them can be signed to the practice squad.

Here is Bills Wire’s trackers for the team’s initial practice squad roster:

Buffalo Bills 2023 roster cuts tracker

Stay on top of the #Bills’ roster cuts right here:

The Buffalo Bills have begans their quest to 53 players (and a practice squad). The team must be down to that to total number of players by 4 p.m. on Tuesday.

But as is often the case, the NFL is wasting little time skimming down their rosters. Brandon Beane and Sean McDermott included.

Here is Bills Wire’s 2023 roster tracker for Buffalo as the Bills work their way down to 53 players:

Bills injury update: Players sitting out practice totals seven

Time to heal up:

The Buffalo Bills had a laundry list of an injury report on Tuesday ahead of facing the Chicago Bears in their preseason finale.

In total, seven players missed the early week practice. It’s likely that this total is the largest the team has had so far this summer.

Considering it’s the last preseason game, getting health and on the field could be crucial for certain players. Bills Wire will continue to monitor the injury report throughout this upcoming week, but for now, here’s how the team’s list of dinged up players looked:

Buffalo Bills sign Eli Ankou to reserve/future contract

#Bills sign Eli Ankou to reserve/future contract:

The Buffalo Bills are giving Eli Ankou a shot again in 2022.

The team announced on Monday that the defensive tackle has inked a reserve/future contract with the team.

In late January, the Bills announced 10 players had been signed to such a contract. At the time, Ankou was surprisingly not included in that bunch, but now he is.

A reserve/future contract guarantees that a player cannot be signed by another team. The deal goes into effect once the new league year begins and will count towards the next season’s salary cap and 90-man roster for the offseason and training camp.

During the 2021 season, of all practice squad players Buffalo had, Ankou made amongst the biggest impacts.

Ankou appeared in five games with the Bills. The 27-year-old recorded a sack with nine tackles included one for loss this past year.

Currently Bills defensive tackle Harrison Phillips is slated to be a free agent. Also in the middle, Star Lotulelei is a potential cap causality this offseason.

While Ankou only signs a reserve/future contract, there is a realistic chance he is given a good opportunity to factor into Buffalo’s defensive line next season. Ankou was mainly used on run downs when he saw playing time in 2021.

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Bills place Eli Ankou on practice squad COVID-19 list

#Bills place Eli Ankou on practice squad COVID-19 list:

The Buffalo Bills placed one player on the team’s practice squad COVID-19 list on Tuesday.

Defensive tackle Elite Ankou was landed on the designation, per the NFL’s transaction wire.

Ankou has appeared in five games with the Bills in 2021. He has featured in their defensive line rotation on game day when called up from the taxi squad prior to game day.

Before last weekend’s wild-card meeting against the New England Patriots, Ankou was called up. However, he was inactive on game day.

In addition to Ankou being called up, linebacker Joe Giles-Harris was as well. Both did not play.

Ankou landing on the COVID-related designation hopefully will not mean the virus spreads around the team’s locker room this week. Buffalo faces the Kansas City Chiefs this upcoming weekend in the AFC divisional round.

If vaccinated for COVID-19, Ankou could be eligible to return by game day with a negative test result for the virus. Regardless, Ankou will likely not practice this week.

While Ankou is on the COVID list, Buffalo does have an open spot on their practice squad and could add a player to the taxi squad.

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