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The Buffalo Bills overhauled their offensive line in the 2019 offseason, that much we know. At one point, they had sixteen healthy players in camp competing for time along the line. However, as with anything related to football, unexpected things occur. Whether due to injury or retirements, the best-laid plans always need changing.
Those plans often create other incredibly important ripple effects. For example, some of us may plan out an offseason article series for an awesome sports blog—let’s call it Ruffalo Bumblings—where they write about 90 football players in 90 calendar days. When the subject of that series ends up adding new players within that time frame, the technical title of that series no longer matters.
In today’s installment of “90 players in 90 days” “95 players in 95 days,” we examine the newest member of the Buffalo Bills, a young offensive lineman whose once-promising career has been derailed thanks to injury.
Name: Nico Siragusa
Number: 71
Position: OL
Height/Weight: 6’4” 330 lbs.
Age: 25 (26 on 5/10/20)
Experience/Draft: 2; selected in the fourth round (122 overall) by the Baltimore Ravens in the 2017 NFL Draft
College: San Diego State
Acquired: Signed with Bills on 8/1/19
Financial situation (per Spotrac): Siragusa signed a one-year deal at the minimum—$570,000—on the first day in August. The contract contains zero guaranteed money, so he can be released prior to camp at no penalty for the Bills.
2018 Recap: Siragusa spent much of the 2018 season on Baltimore’s practice squad after he didn’t make the team out of training camp. He was signed to the active roster by the Green Bay Packers on December 12, but he did not appear in any games. In fact, Siragusa has yet to appear in a regular season game, as his rookie season ended during training camp (ironically on August 1, 2017, the same day he signed with Buffalo in 2019) when he tore his ACL, MCL, and PCL during practice.
Positional outlook: Siragusa joins a crowded field vying for space on the offensive line. The team lists him as an “OL” rather than as a guard, so perhaps they will try him at multiple positions; however, he has only played guard in the NFL. Garrett McGhin, De’Ondre Wesley, Spencer Long, Quinton Spain, Wyatt Teller, Vladimir Ducasse, Ike Boettger, and Jon Feliciano are his primary competition for a roster spot.
2019 Offseason: Siragusa was without a team until Buffalo signed him to replace Issac Asiata, who retired. Since signing, he has participated in all camp practices.
2019 Season outlook: Siragusa is probably a camp body, but he’s one with some good upside. If he can show that he is fully recovered from that devastating knee injury he suffered as a rookie, perhaps he could be stashed on the practice squad. Barring a slew of injuries, he isn’t someone who should make the 53-man roster, but he is an intriguing enough player to warrant consideration for the future.