The Buffalo Bills have dipped into the (China) Arena Football League to add to their roster, signing DE Jake Metz on Friday. The news was reported by ESPN’s Adam Caplan via Metz’s agent Jerrold Colton.
Metz, 26, went undrafted in 2014 out of Shippensburg. He’s nearly 6’6” and 265 pounds. At the Villanova pro day that year, Metz didn’t have an impressive workout, running a 4.99 in the 40 and being clocked at 4.91 in the short shuttle and 7.31 in the three-cone drill.
In college, Metz was incredibly productive, notching 55 tackles for loss and 30.5 sacks in four seasons.
He had 19 TFLs as a junior and 18 as a senior.
After working out for the Giants, Eagles, and Lions following the 2014 draft, Metz signed with the Philadelphia Soul of the AFL.
In August of 2016, Metz was named the AFL’s Defensive Player of the Year after leading the league with eight sacks.
That led to him being signed by the Eagles in late August, but his time with Philadelphia was short lived. He was released on September 3.
He spent the 2016 season playing for Qingdao Clipper of the China Arena Football League.
This is a good tweet on this signing:
@caplannfl @TheBillsMafia @Jerrold_Colton Bills 2
— Dan Foley (@foleyloaded93) April 7, 2017
Bon Jovi 0
Metz seems like the classic “camp body,” someone who’s paid his dues at lower levels of competition to earn a shot to prove himself at the NFL-level this spring and maybe into the summer.