It is not a good year to be an undrafted rookie free agent trying to make it in the NFL. The Buffalo Bills are historically a team that finds great value in this particular player acquisition pool; just take a look at the team's receiving corps for the most recent example. This year's crop of Bills undrafted free agents has been lackluster, however - a league-wide trend borne of a severely cramped preparation period post-NFL lockout.
There has been one exception to this new rule in Buffalo, however. Robert Eddins, a 6'3", 248-pound rookie out of Ball State, has been impressive throughout training camp and the pre-season - so much so that Chan Gailey talked him up on Tuesday when asked if he'd been surprised by Eddins.
"Completely surprised me. I had no idea, really, who he was," Gailey said. "The scouting staff said 'Hey, we need to take a look at this guy, he's got something to him,' and they were right. The guy has really done a great job."
Antonio Coleman and Danny Batten are locked in as reserve rush linebackers ahead of Eddins, so his odds of making the team seem long. Still, that's effusive praise for the rookie from a head coach - so much so that Eddins may stick around in Buffalo will beyond this weekend's cut-down date.