NFL.com's Jason La Canfora is reporting via Twitter that the Buffalo Bills will sign OT Jamon Meredith off of the practice squad of the Green Bay Packers. OT Brad Butler was placed on Injured Reserve to make room for Meredith; the Bills have confirmed the signing.
Meredith (69, pictured above), a rookie out of South Carolina, was the second of Green Bay's two fifth-round pick this season (No. 162 overall). The 6'5", 304-pound tackle is regarded as a very athletic, very raw prospect, and the fact that Green Bay - which just surrendered five sacks to Bengals DE Antwan Odom - had him on the practice squad as a fifth-round rookie speaks volumes. Athleticism was a priority for the Bills in finding a reserve tackle because of the physical demands of the team's up-tempo, no-huddle offense.
Buffalo needed a tackle after learning on Monday that starting right tackle Brad Butler's season is over. Meredith will be the team's emergency tackle and likely will not be active - unless one of the team's top three tackles (Demetrius Bell, Jonathan Scott, Kirk Chambers) succumbs to injury as well.
The Bills generally go into games with seven active linemen. This move cements Scott's status as the Bills' starting right tackle for the immediate future, and Chambers - a key reserve in 2007 and 2008 that has not yet been active this season - becomes the team's top backup at both left and right tackle.