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With the Buffalo Bills set to take the training camp practice field in less than two hours, the team has announced the signings of two veteran free agent offensive linemen: guard/center Antoine Caldwell and tackle Tony Hills.
Caldwell, 27, is a 6'3", 315-pound former Alabama standout that was selected in the third round of the 2009 NFL Draft by Houston. He has four years of experience in a zone-blocking scheme, with 19 career starts in 40 appearances. He has remained unsigned this off-season after a 2012 campaign in which he struggled as a starting guard before a slight injury forced him out of the lineup permanently in favor of Ben Jones, with whom Caldwell had been splitting reps. He profiles similarly to June signing Doug Legursky: an experienced reserve-type that could push for a role here in Buffalo.
In fact, you may as well keep an eye on Caldwell in the team's starting left guard competition, as BuffaloBills.com is already claiming that Caldwell is "expected to compete" for that job.
Hills - 6'5", 304 - is a former fourth-round pick: Pittsburgh (yes, Doug Whaley's former stomping grounds) took him there in 2008. Hills has spent time with three teams in his five years as a pro, appearing in eight games (five of them last year with Indianapolis) with one career start. At the very least, he will give Buffalo's coaches an interesting athletic specimen that can take reps while Chris Hairston remains on Active/PUP.
Buffalo's roster now stands at 88 players, including free safety Jairus Byrd. The Bills will be on the field for their first training camp practice at 6:10 this evening; we'll have an open thread up for y'all to discuss the long-anticipated opening of the Bills' 2013 campaign.