Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is reporting that the Buffalo Bills are expected to place a waiver claim on rookie outside linebacker Thaddeus Gibson. A fourth-round draft pick this past April out of Ohio State, the Steelers waived Gibson this past week in order to boost depth on the defensive line following Aaron Smith's injury.

Bouchette's report does not cite a league source and sounds rather speculative, with Bills assistant GM Doug Whaley's ties to the Steelers organization offered as rationale for the possible move.

Gibson left Ohio State as a junior entrant into the 2010 NFL Draft, which surprised most experts. A 6'2", 240-pound college defensive end that the Steelers were grooming as a 3-4 outside linebacker, Gibson had five sacks as a sophomore and four more as a junior, and finished his college career with 82 tackles, 10 sacks, three forced fumbles and an interception.

Again, please bear in mind that this report, at least to us, appears more speculative than anything else. But it's not without merit; the Bills need as many talented players as they can muster for the eventuality of running the 3-4 defense, and Gibson is a very gifted athlete. Gibson ran the 40-yard dash in 4.71 seconds at the NFL scouting combine, and also put up 32 reps of 225 pounds.