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Alaina GetzenbergESPN
BUFFALO (N.Y.) — The Buffalo Eagles have signed three defensive tackles through free agency. BillsFriday’s announcement of the retirement of a veteran defensive tackle Star Lotulelei.
Lotulelei, 32 years old, signed a contract worth $50 million for five years with the Bills in 2018. In 2020, the contract was restructured to make it more affordable for Buffalo’s salary cap room. In the end, Lotulelei’s time was over with the Bills.
According to ESPN, the Bills chose not to designate post-June 1, a league source said. This would have led to less dead cap, but would have delayed savings. This saves $1.5million in cap space and results with $7.7million in dead cap for this year. Buffalo will have no dead cap after the release of next year.
Lotulelei was a Buffalo native who played three seasons before opting out of the 2020 season because of concerns about COVID-19. The 2013 first-round selection was made by the Carolina PanthersWorking with Sean McDermott, now-Bills Coach, from 2013 to 2017.
He played in 40 games for the Bills. He ended up with five sacks. 53 tackles, eight tackles for loss, and 53 tackles. He had a 27.2% run stop win rate during his time in Buffalo.
Lotulelei missed the 2021 season because he was positive for COVID-19 as well as for personal reasons. Brandon Beane, general manager, noted that Lotulelei had lost some of his performance due to COVID-19 effects. He was a disruptive lineman for the Bills in the first half of the season.
Beane explained that he was affected by COVID after he received it. “I don’t believe he has returned to his old form, without getting too deep in the woods. He would be the first to admit that he wasn’t playing at the level he was at earlier in the season. Although he improved, I felt it helped the playoff games. However, I don’t believe it was as consistent as it was in the first half of the season.
Buffalo signed defensive tackles Tim Settle, Jordan PhillipsAnd DaQuan JonesIn free agency, a large portion of the Bills’ acquisitions have been to increase talent on the defensive line.