The Bills have signed defensive end Sam Acho and have released guard Vlad Ducasse, the team announced. Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic observes that Ducasse was running with the third-stringers when all of Buffalo’s O-linemen were healthy, so he was clearly not going to make the team (Twitter link). As a veteran and former starter, the club likely wanted to give him a chance to catch on elsewhere.
Indeed, Ducasse started 21 games for the Bills over the past two seasons, but he did not fare particularly well in either campaign. Buffalo made the O-line a primary focus this offseason, and the former second-round pick of the Jets slid down the depth chart as a result. Although he has never been a top performer, another club will likely bring him in to serve as experienced depth.
Acho, meanwhile, missed most of 2018 with a pectoral injury. In 2017, he started 12 games and played on 60% of the Bears’ defensive snaps, posting 27 tackles, three sacks, and one pass defensed. Last year, he had just two tackles across four games.
After recording seven sacks in his rookie campaign in Arizona in 2011, Acho has never been able to replicate that success. He will attempt to make the Bills as a situational pass rusher after Buffalo traded Eli Harold earlier this week.