Buffalo Bills
Starter
Bills sign former Panther first-round pick who played for Sean McDermott
Source: https://www.buffalorumblings.com/20...ign-lb-shaq-thompson-former-carolina-panthers
Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images
The former first-round pick of the Carolina Panthers is coming of an Achilles injury.
The Buffalo Bills have signed another former Carolina Panthers defender who played for head coach Sean McDermott when he was the defensive coordinator in Charlotte. This one is a former first-round pick, to boot, as the Bills have signed linebacker Shaq Thompson.
Thompson recently turned 31 and as with a lot of players as they age, he’s recently dealt with a ton of injuries. In 2024, he played in four games before suffering a torn Achilles. In 2023, he broke his fibula in the second week of the season and missed the rest of the year. He did play 14 or more games in every previous NFL season.
The move comes as the Bills open mandatory minicamp on Tuesday and puts the team at the maximum of 91 players on the active roster.
Thompson was a first-round pick in 2015 and spent his entire career with the Panthers, first under Ron Rivera (with McDermott as DC), then Matt Rhule, Frank Reich, and Dave Canales. He was a rookie the year the team lost the Super Bowl to the Denver Broncos.
His list of accomplishments is very long. He is one of eight NFL players with four straight 100+ tackle seasons in his career.
Which Buffalo Bills players could the Shaq Thompson signing impact?
The move could be a direct replacement option for LB Baylon Spector, who has struggled in the lineup in his limited action. The Bills didn’t add a linebacker this offseason, which I thought was odd, but this seems to address that depth piece.
With Matt Milano aging and fighting off injuries, the Bills only had Dorian Williams as solid depth last year. So when Terrel Bernard was also sidelined, it caught up to the Bills quickly.
Especially as the Bills may be looking to add beef more often with three linebackers instead of playing a base nickel, adding a linebacker who can give impactful snaps is desireably.
More to come...
Source: https://www.buffalorumblings.com/20...ign-lb-shaq-thompson-former-carolina-panthers