Buffalo Rumblings
The Bills skipped the ERFA process and locked up a reserve tackle
The Buffalo Bills announced that they re-signed offensive tackle Ryan Van Demark. The team said it was a one-year contract. Terms of the deal have yet to be disclosed.
Van Demark, 26, enters his third year with the Bills. He joined the club as an undrafted free agent following final cut-downs after the preseason in 2022.
Van Demark initially entered the league as an undrafted free agent, signing with the Indianapolis Colts following the 2022 NFL Draft. He played collegiately at UCONN.
Van Demark appeared in 12 games during the 2023 season, playing on just 47 offensive snaps overall. This season, however, he started two games and appeared in 14. Van Demark made his first career start in Week 11 during Buffalo’s 30-21 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. He then started the regular-season finale, a 23-16 loss to the New England Patriots.
While Van Demark was the primary swing tackle for much of the last two seasons, it appears that Buffalo has moved Van Demark down on the depth chart this season and moving forward. Rookie Tylan Grable, a sixth-round pick of the Bills in the 2024 NFL Draft, was the active swing tackle for the playoffs.
Van Demark was an exclusive-rights free agent, meaning that the Bills merely had to offer him a contract in order to retain his services. By signing him outside of that process, it shows the player respect and that the team wants him to remain with the organization.
