English
Español
The Buffalo Bills seem to be in a perpetual state of searching for pass-rush talent. We could literally replace the year and recycle the same headline over and over by writing, “The Buffalo Bills need to find consistent pass rushers entering this season.” If we didn’t provide the season in question, we could seriously be talking about any season from 2018 to the present day.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise, then, that entering the 2026 season, the Bills are in search of a consistent pass rush. The added difficulty this season comes in the form of a schematic change, as the Bills will shift from former head coach Sean McDermott’s even-front, base nickel scheme to new defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard’s odd-front, more aggressive scheme.
With this in mind, we present our first look at the state of the Bills’ edge rushers with a known caveat. I am categorizing players based on the roles they played during the 2025 season knowing full well that those roles might not exist in the 2026 scheme. Rather than speculate on exactly what Leonhard will do moving forward, it’s neater for grouping purposes to keep Buffalo’s existing personnel in their former boss’ boxes.
When it comes to individual players, we’ll discuss what their role might look like moving forward should they remain with the Bills. This is going to be an issue with every personnel group, but the front-seven players in particular will be hard to categorize until we see the team in action during minicamp.
With that in mind, we present our latest look at the state of the Buffalo Bills roster.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Greg Rousseau
Contract Status for 2026: Signed; first year of a four-year $80 million contract ($11.81 million cap hit; $32.92 million dead-cap number)
Age: 25 (26 on 4/5/2026)
Playing Time: 16 games (16 starts), 629 defensive snaps (64.05% of team total), 74 special teams snaps (17.05% of team total)
Key Statistics: 46 tackles, 23 QB hits, 6 tackles for loss, 7 sacks, 2 pass breakups, 1 forced fumble
Rousseau has been an interesting player to read about during his career in the sense that fans’ “eye test” measures don’t often align with statistical and film evaluations of his play. Whereas many fans want Rousseau to be a 15-sack behemoth, his production has generally stayed in the six-to-eight range throughout his career. For some, this indicates that his play is unimpressive; however, Rousseau’s impact goes beyond just one particular statistical category.
Rousseau ranked eighth last year among all EDGE players, earning an overall grade of 86.4 from Pro Football Focus. Sure, that’s a website we tend to cite when we like what we hear and disregard when we don’t, but it’s a measure that indicates Rousseau’s impact goes beyond the box score. He’s consistently excellent against the run, using his length and burst to set the edge and disrupt opposing running backs. Rousseau is the master of the “almost sack,” which is certainly frustrating, but often leads to hurried throws that benefit Buffalo’s defense just as much as sacks in the long run.
With a scheme change coming, Rousseau’s elite athletic traits will be on display next year. He’ll likely serve as a stand-up EDGE rusher akin to a 3-4 linebacker. At 6’6” and 266 pounds, he has the size and the burst to play out there, and he has experience dropping into coverage from having done so at points throughout his career under former head coach Sean McDermott. Maybe I’m too optimistic, but I’m bullish on Rousseau’s prospects for a huge 2026 season in a new, more aggressive scheme.
Joey Bosa
Contract Status for 2026: Unsigned; UFA
Age: 30 (31 on 7/11/2026)
Playing Time: 15 games (15 starts), 562 defensive snaps (57.23% of team total), 10 special teams snaps (2.3% of team total)
Key Statistics: 29 tackles, 16 QB hits, 9 tackles for loss, 5 sacks, 2 pass knockdowns, 5 forced fumbles
The early part of Bosa’s season made general manager Brandon Beane look like a genius. Bosa forced four fumbles and totaled two sacks and four QB hits in the month of September alone. After that, though, his production slowed as he tried to play through injuries to his wrist and calf. Bosa had three sacks, a forced fumble, and 12 QB hits across Buffalo’s next 11 games.
The Bills were 4-0 in September, and they were 6-5 in the next 11 games Bosa played. That’s not to say it’s entirely the fault of one player that the team’s performance slid, but it was indicative of how Buffalo struggled after the opening month.
Bosa has experience in a 3-4 system as an outside linebacker, so there’s definitely a chance that he returns next season. However, the Bills are likely better off looking elsewhere for pass-rush help in 2026.
A.J. Epenesa
Contract Status for 2026: Unsigned; UFA
Age: 27 (28 on 9/15/2026)
Playing Time: 16 games (2 starts), 438 defensive snaps (44.6% of team total), 85 special teams snaps (19.59% of team total)
Key Statistics: 32 tackles, 9 QB hits, 2 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, 4 pass breakups, 2 interceptions, 1 fumble recovery
Epenesa had another solid year as a rotational player. He’s always been a bit of a ‘tweener, and he’s always been better at setting the edge and defending the run than he is at rushing the passer. His value moving forward is interesting.
Buffalo had him bulk up early in his career, almost as if they planned to use him to rush the passer from the inside on obvious passing downs, yet he’s played his best at a weight closer to 260 pounds. like he is now.
Do the Bills think he can play outside linebacker? Do the Bills want him to play outside linebacker? If they do want him back, what kind of contract will it take to keep the 2020 second-round pick with the team? I expect Epenesa to have the chance to test his market before any decisions are made.
Shaq Lawson
Contract Status for 2026: Unsigned; UFA
Age: 31 (32 on 6/17/2026)
Playing Time: NA
Key Statistics: NA
Even though he was drafted when Rex Ryan was the head coach, Lawson has been a Sean McDermott guy through and through. He signed late last season as veteran insurance on the practice squad, and I’d be stunned if he were back next season.
Matt Judon
Contract Status for 2026: Unsigned; UFA
Age: 33 (34 on 8/15/2026)
Playing Time w/Buffalo: 1 game, 31 defensive snaps (3.16% of team total), 5 special teams snaps (1.15% of team total)
Key Statistics: NA
Speaking of veteran insurance, Judon also joined Buffalo’s practice squad late in the season, and he was active for just the regular-season finale. He’s another veteran with experience in an odd-front defense, so if he and the Bills wanted to give it a go for a full offseason at the veteran’s minimum, there are worse moves the team could make. However, Judon isn’t going to be a priority re-signing.
Landon Jackson
Contract Status for 2026: Signed; second year of four-year rookie contract ($1,504,314 cap hit; $1,090,353 dead-cap number)
Age: 23 (24 on 1/2/2027)
Playing Time: 3 games, 30 defensive snaps (3.05% of team total), 13 special teams snaps (3% of team total)
Key Statistics: NA
I wonder how much of this pick was Brandon Beane and the scouting department, and how much of it was Sean McDermott lobbying for an edge player who fit his archetype. Jackson is long, which gives him an advantage when setting the edge against the run, but he lacks pass-rush juice, bend off the edge, and functional strength overall.
Jackson was a healthy scratch for much of the season, and he suffered a season-ending knee injury in just his third game active. Perhaps he’ll adapt quickly to a new scheme, but he has an uphill battle to have any relevance on defense moving forward.
Andre Jones Jr.
Contract Status for 2026: Unsigned; UFA
Age: 27 (28 on 10/25/2026)
Playing Time: 3 games, 44 special teams snaps (10.14% of team total), 38 offensive snaps (3.87% of team total)
Key Statistics: 5 tackles
Jones was sneaky-effective for the Bills in a reserve role this year, and while a scheme change could impact whether or not he’ll return, Jones is another player that the team could use as a camp body-slash-special teams type this summer. Jones was considered an EDGE/OLB type coming out Louisiana-Lafeyette, so it’s not crazy to think he could play the outside linebacker position for Buffalo.
One Bills Drive would likely be able to retain him at the veteran’s minimum, and they could certainly do worse than him in a depth role.
Javon Solomon
Contract Status for 2026: Signed; third year of four-year rookie contract ($1,138,569 cap hit; $127,138 dead-cap number)
Age: 24 (25 on 1/17/2026)
Playing Time: 17 games (1 start), 278 special teams snaps (64.08% of team total), 195 defensive snaps (19.86% of team total)
Key Statistics: 17 tackles, 2 QB hits, 1 tackle for loss, 1 sack
After a record-setting college career at Troy, Solomon has settled into a role as a special teams missile first throughout his two years with the Bills. He was undersized for the 4-3 front head coach Sean McDermott preferred, and there were concerns about his lack of ideal size coming out of college. With that said, though, Solomon is right around the same size as Denver Broncos stud Nik Bonitto, so it’s not impossible for someone that scouts see as lacking the “ideal” type having success at the NFL level.
Will a scheme change provide more chances for Solomon to make an impact on defense? At worst, the Bills have a very good special teams player on their hands (Solomon notched 12 special teams tackles last season). At best, they have a potential pass-rush demon waiting to be unlocked.
Michael Hoecht
Contract Status for 2026: Signed; second year of three-year contract ($7.528 million cap hit; $9.552 million dead-cap number)
Age: 28 (29 on 10/5/2026)
Playing Time: 2 games, 64 defensive snaps (6.52% of team total), 20 special teams snaps (4.61% of team total)
Key Statistics: 5 tackles, 2 QB hits, 1 tackle for loss, 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble
Even though Hoecht could not complete the second of the two games he played for Buffalo this past season, he was arguably one of the most impactful defensive linemen on the roster. When accounting for the fact that he played just 64 total snaps on defense, there is a lot to love about this free-agent signing. An untimely Achilles tendon tear ended his season early, but if he can come back next season and make a similar impact, the Bills will be in good shape.
Hoecht has experience as a big “move” piece in an odd-front defense, so I’d argue that he actually fits Buffalo’s likely new scheme better than he did the scheme McDermott ran. At best, we’re looking at a possible return to practice around September, so I don’t imagine that he’ll begin the year on the field. However, if Hoecht can rehab and come back around the midpoint of the season, it will be like adding a high-end free agent in November. Of course, that’s what we said about this past season, as well, as Hoecht came back from his six-game PED suspension at the end of October. If Hoecht’s healthy, he helps tremendously.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Final Thoughts
The Bills have three players I’d consider roster locks here, though two—Solomon and Hoecht—come with some question marks. Will the new defensive staff view Solomon as someone useful on defense? When will Hoecht be ready to play? With Rousseau set to start regardless, Buffalo has at least one solid edge in the fold. How will they go about adding more?
Re-signing someone like Judon won’t turn any heads, but it will raise the floor at the position if that’s a direction they want to go. Spending big money on edge rushers in free agency is a risky proposition, but if the Bills want to look to the veteran market, they’ll have options. Haasan Reddick could be added on a “prove-it” deal, and while his best years might be behind him, he’s just two years removed from an 11-sack season with the Philadelphia Eagles. The Miami Dolphins just released Bradley Chubb, and while he’s sure to have multiple suitors, the chance at seeing his old club twice a season could be a draw—provided that another contending AFC East team with more salary cap space doesn’t swoop in and offer him more money.
The issue with Buffalo trying to sign veteran pass rushers is just that: Buffalo is tight up against the salary cap, so they won’t have the coin to ofer some of the bigger-named players. That leaves them shopping in the bargain bin and hoping that players with athletic traits that they like—maybe an Azeez Ojulari, Yetur Gross-Matos, or Payton Turner—can flip the switch in a new scheme. If they want to break the bank for Chubb, K’Lavon Chaisson, Trey Hendrickson, Khalil Mack, Kwity Paye, or even in a reunion with Joey Bosa, it takes away resources that they don’t have that they still need to allocate elsewhere.
Relying on the NFL Draft for immediate impact in the pass rush is risky, but it’s a strategy the Bills have to try. Buffalo is picking too late in the draft to expect one of the top-end EDGE rushers, but players like Tennessee’s Joshua Josephs, Oklahoma’s R Mason Thomas, Texas Tech’s Romello Height, Illinois’ Gabe Jacas, and Michigan’s Derrick Moore are all players who could be available when the Bills pick in either the second or third round—or later. Josephs, in particular, could be a good addition, as he brings a bend and athleticism that some of the others lack. Jacas has the size and the physicality, while Moore has some experience lining up in multiple positions.
Unless the Bills are going to trade up to select someone like Cashius Howell or T.J. Parker, they’re likely looking at a second-tier prospect that they hope can develop into a first-tier pass rusher. With Buffalo’s defensive scheme change coming, there’s another issue to note here, and it’s that we’ve focused solely on EDGE rushers, or players that likely translate as stand-up outside linebackers in an odd-front scheme. While it’s not 1994 anymore, and defenses are far more fluid than tney were in the past, there are still some different archetypes that profile best at certain spots in certain defenses.
The Bills need to acquire players capable of rushing the passer from the outside in a two-point stance, but they also need to shift what their defensive ends look like, as well, as a three-man line generally calls for beefier defensive ends with long arms. While the Bills have some defensive ends who might be able to play with a hand in the dirt in a three-man front (Greg Rousseau, Joey Bosa, and A.J. Epenesa come to mind), those same players are likely better off playing in a two-point stance as a rush linebacker.
So, while it’s clear that the Bills need pass rushers, it’s also clear that the kind of defensive end the Bills have employed for the past nine seasons will look drastically different next year. It’s also clear that the linebackers will look different, as well. Some of those former defensive ends will need to find homes as de facto outside linebackers. Buffalo’s additions to the front seven will need to address a tale as old as time: In order to win games in January, the team needs players who can impact the opposing quarterback consistently and without needing a blitz to do it.
To quote David Byrne of Talking Heads, “Same as it ever was.”