Buffalo Bills release DT Kyle Peko, promote DT Vincent Taylor

The Buffalo Bills swapped out reserve defensive tackles on Saturday, releasing Kyle Peko and promoting Vincent Taylor from their practice squad. Presumably, the move is meant to help the team’s run defense, which was gashed to the tune of 218 yards last weekend against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Taylor, 25, was a sixth-round pick of the Miami Dolphins in 2017. He played two years in Miami, ending each season on injured reserve. In his rookie year, he played in 13 games before injuring his knee. In 2018, he made it through eight games before a foot injury ended his season. He totaled 45 tackles and two sacks in 21 games with Miami. The Dolphins waived him this September as part of their final cuts, and he was signed to Buffalo’s practice squad on September 5.

Peko, 26, had been with Buffalo since September 2018. He signed to Buffalo’s practice squad on September 12, and then signed a reserve/future contract at the end of the 2018 season. After spending the offseason with the team, he was waived as the team made its final cuts heading into the 2019 season. He re-signed to the team’s practice squad, and he was promoted to the active roster on September 24 to replace Harrison Phillips, who tore his ACL against the Cincinnati Bengals. He had four tackles in four games played this season. Peko’s wife, Giuliana, was diagnosed with stage 3 Hodgkin’s lymphoma during the offseason, but she was declared cancer-free in September after undergoing treatment.

Taylor is a bit bigger than Peko, as he has two inches (he stands 6’3” to Peko’s 6’1”) and a few pounds (311 to Peko’s 305) on the man he replaces. More importantly, Taylor is strictly a one-tech defensive tackle, which will allow the team to play Jordan Phillips exclusively at three-tech moving forward. Taylor will rotate with Star Lotulelei, while Phillips will continue to rotate with rookie Ed Oliver.