While the Buffalo Bills are missing the surefire All Pro linebacker that Sean McDermott had with the Carolina Panthers in Luke Kuechly, there is some talent in the group he has to work with now. One of those guys has spent some time bouncing around the league for a few years before finding himself with the Bills last year as a special teamer. Could he be in for a bigger role this year?
Name: Ramon Humber
# 50
Position: LB
Height/Weight: 5’11”, 232 lbs
Experience: 9
College: North Dakota State
Draft: UDFA (2009)
Financial Situation (per Spotrac): Humber signed a one-year deal with the Bills this offseason that will pay him $900,000, of which $80,000 is guaranteed.
2016 Recap: Humber was signed by the Bills after being released by the New Orleans Saints during the preseason. He appeared in all 16 games, mainly on special teams, but did notch a start due to a linebacker-heavy formation in Week 16 against the Miami Dolphins. Humber recorded five tackles last year, despite only seeing 60 snaps with the defense.
Positional Outlook: It’s hard to say where the starters begin and the backups end at the linebacker position. There are probably five linebackers vying for three starting spots, and not only is it hard to say who will win, it’s hard to figure out exactly where they’ll line up.
2017 Offseason: Humber re-upped with the Bills back in February. Since then, he’s been mentioned as a possible starter by the team’s website and even his new head coach. The team has added a veteran (Gerald Hodges) to the mix since then, however, so it’s far from set in stone.
2017 Season Outlook: It really is hard to say what’s going on with the depth chart at linebacker these days, but at this point I fully expect Humber to make the 53. He could be running with special teams all year, or he could open the season as a starter. If I had to guess, I’d put by money on the former. That said, I could have written the same exact paragraph for Lorenzo Alexander last year. Who knows.