The Buffalo Bills have a very noticeable hole on their offensive line at left guard after their top two players at the position - Andy Levitre (Tennessee Titans) and Chad Rinehart (San Diego Chargers) - departed via free agency this week.
While we mull which remaining free agents and/or 2013 NFL Draft prospects the team may pursue to fill the void, it's important to note that the team does have in-house candidates for the position. Granted, none of them are remotely of the ilk of the departed Levitre, but two of them already have some experience playing the position in Buffalo.
Colin Brown (6'7", 326): Re-signed to a two-year contract earlier this off-season, Brown has seen some playing time in recent seasons - in 2011 as a center late in the season, and then again as a backup right guard in 2012 before a hamstring injury ended his season. Right now, he's the team's most tenured and best option at left guard.
Sam Young (6'8", 316): A right tackle by trade, Young saw some work at right guard and right tackle last season, finishing the season on the edge after Erik Pears and Chris Hairston both landed on IR. A very limited athlete, Young makes up for it with smarts. He's more of a backup-type, but a move inside to guard could actually lengthen his career, considering the fact that he's so overmatched at tackle.
Keith Williams (6'5", 330): Williams came to Buffalo late in 2011 via the Pittsburgh Steelers pipeline, as he was a sixth-round pick of the Steelers out of Nebraska that season. He had an opportunity to earn a roster spot last summer but didn't make much of an impression; he's still a physical specimen, and probably the best athletic fit for the interior of any name on this list.
Chris Scott (6'4", 320): Another former Steelers draft pick (Round 5, 2010), the Tennessee product was miscast a bit as a tackle coming out of college. He joined the Bills late in the 2012 season as depth, but did not see the field. Like Williams before him, he's a better physical fit for the interior line than either Brown or Young, and it'll be interesting to see what he does with some sort of opportunity this summer.
Brown and Young are not great fits at guard, but they have some playing experience in Buffalo, and both have shown fairly well. Williams and Scott do not have the experience, but have the right physical measurements to play inside. Clearly, the Bills would be best-served finding a more ironclad solution to their newest hole on the O-Line, but when it comes to depth, the team does have a nice mix of options.