A part-time starter for the Giants and 49ers over the past two seasons, Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles found a new home Wednesday. The Bills signed the veteran linebacker to a one-year deal.
The former San Francisco UDFA joins a Buffalo team that has not re-signed Matt Milano or Shaq Thompson. To make room on their 90-man offseason roster, the Bills waived wide receiver Max Tomczak. The nephew of former NFL QB Mike Tomczak, Max joined the Bills as a UDFA this month.
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Flannigan-Fowles joined the Giants on a one-year, $1.34MM deal. Wednesday’s signing will reunite Flannigan-Fowles with 2025 position coach John Egorugwu, who returned to Buffalo this offseason after four seasons on New York’s staff. The Giants used Flannigan-Fowles as a three-game starter last year, and he played 36% of the team’s defensive snaps. That represented a career-high usage rate on defense for the Arizona alum.
Making 33 tackles (three for loss) and registering a sack last season, Flannigan-Fowles is still probably better remembered for his lengthy Bay Area stay. The 49ers used Flannigan-Fowles as a Week 1 starter in 2024, with Dre Greenlaw on the mend from his Super Bowl LVIII Achilles tear, and he made seven starts for the team from 2020-24.
Flannigan-Fowles, 29, has been a regular on special teams throughout his career. He saw action on at least 63% of the 49ers’ ST plays from 2020-23. That may be his Bills role, as the AFC playoff bastion returns regulars Terrel Bernard and Dorian Williams. The team also rosters Buffalo native Joe Andreessen as a backup option while also bringing in fourth-round pick Kaleb Elarms-Orr out of TCU.