The Buffalo Bills have an agreement with free agent guard Vladimir Ducasse for a three-year deal, according to CBS reporter Jason LaCanfora. The six-foot-five, 326 pounder comes to Buffalo from the Baltimore Ravens, where he played for new Bills offensive line coach Juan Castillo in 2016.
A former second round pick, Ducasse was positioned to be the heir apparent to Alan Faneca for the New York Jets, but he never claimed a starting role during his time with the team. He played a year as a reserve in Minnesota, then signed a one-year deal in 2015 that had him playing for Chicago, when he started in 11 games. Moving on to Baltimore in 2016, he was cut at the start of the season, re-signed a month later, and started eight games for the Ravens.
Ducasse hasn’t distinguished himself very much during his career, and will take over the “backup lineman with coach familiarity” role that Jordan Mills most recently held. While he will likely be playing as a swing guard for Buffalo, he could also move to the outside: Ducasse was a left tackle during his college years. His last three contracts were under $850,000 per year, so expect his new contract to be a similarly small amount of money.