Buffalo Rumblings
The Buffalo Bills signed defensive tackle Phidarian Mathis to their 53-man roster on Wednesday, November 5. The team had placed defensive end Michael Hoecht on Injured Reserve (IR) due to a torn Achilles tendon, thereby opening a roster spot for Mathis.
Mathis, 27, was a second-round pick of the Washington Commanders in the 2022 NFL Draft. He spent three years in the Nation’s Capital, totaling 25 tackles, two tackles for loss, and a pass knockdown in 23 games. He signed with Buffalo’s practice squad on September 10 after having spent the offseason with the New York Jets.
Mathis was elevated from the practice squad for two games this season. He played 17 snaps in Buffalo’s 23-20 loss to the New England Patriots, notching two tackles in the matchup. He was also elevated for Buffalo’s 28-21 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. He totaled one tackle on 14 defensive snaps in that game.
With Hoecht going to IR, the Bills had an open roster spot, but they also have five defensive ends on the current roster: Joey Bosa, A.J. Epenesa, Greg Rousseau, Javon Solomon, and Landon Jackson. Buffalo already has three defensive tackles on IR (DeWayne Carter, T.J. Sanders, and Ed Oliver), and another player dealing with injury in veteran DaQuan Jones.
Mathis joins Jones, Jordan Phillips, Deone Walker, and Larry Ogunjobi on the 53-man roster at defensive tackle. That means the Bills still have 10 defensive linemen to choose from on game days.
The Bills also announced two signings of old friends to the practice squad, as they officially signed defensive end Kingsley Jonathan and defensive back Te’Cory Couch. The team officially released linebacker Jimmy Ciarlo from the practice squad, which we reported yesterday. However, they did not release wideout Kristian Wilkerson, or if they did, they re-signed him to the practice squad, as he was seen at practice by various media members today.
