Patrick Lewis is the newest member of the Buffalo Bills. Doug Whaley and his pro personnel staff can’t stop, won’t stop scouring cut lists to add depth to the team’s roster.
Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reported the news of Buffalo claiming the interior offensive lineman:
Bills claimed OL Patrick Lewis off waivers, source says. Waived by Seattle yesterday.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) August 31, 2016
Lewis was the most recent addition to our NFL cuts tracker list — his particular inclusion was written by Josh Rawdin — and this is what he wrote under the “Why the Bills could be interested” section:
The Bills are lacking depth at center behind Eric Wood, with just Fernando Velasco behind him. Injuries have been frequent this offseason so it would be prudent that the Bills have a few options in case the sky, does in fact, begin to fall.
In 2014, the Seahawks Pro Bowl starting center Max Unger went down with an injury and Lewis, a former undrafted free agent, was there to fill in, starting 4 games. Those 4 games were not enough to convince the Seahawks though, and Drew Novak was named the starter prior to the 2015 season. Lewis eventually earned his starting spot back after week 9 and kept that spot until the end of the Seahawks’ playoff run.
While Pro Football Focus gave him below average grades during his last two seasons, Lewis is only 25 years old and has 13 NFL starts under his belt. That youth and experience could be beneficial in backing up Eric Wood.
Lewis was a member of a very talented offensive line at Texas A&M that included former first-round picks Luke Joeckel, Jake Matthews and Cedric Ogbuehi.
Update: To make room for Lewis, the Bills released UDFA OL Jamison Lalk.
#Bills have claimed C Patrick Lewis and released OL Jamison Lalk
— Joe Buscaglia (@JoeBuscaglia) August 31, 2016