Yesterday, when we broke down the Buffalo Bills' safety position, we talked about veteran George Wilson's true value to the team: as its best special teams player and captain. New Football Outsiders data helps corroborate that claim.
Wilson, who tied for second on the team with two interceptions in 2010 despite being a reserve, finished tied for fifth in the NFL with 18 return tackles, according to the folks at FO. He finished tied with players like Cleveland's T.J. Ward, Dallas' Danny McCrary and Sam Hurd, and Seattle's Mike McCoy. Wilson has been a stalwart covering both kicks and punts in Buffalo for several years now.
Of course, a former Bill finished second in the league in return tackles in 2010 - a year after leading the league in that category as a Bill in 2009. That'd be 2007 sixth-round pick John Wendling, who had 25 return stops with the Bills in 2009, was not even given a chance to stay on the roster into April by Buddy Nix, and promptly became a special teams standout for Detroit.
Back to Wilson: he's a free agent after the season. There have not been any indications that the Bills are eager to get a deal for Wilson done; that may be a mistake - particularly if Donte Whitner leaves via free agency.