The Buffalo Bills entered free agency intent on addressing an offensive line that woefully under-performed during the 2018 season.
Buffalo added six new faces to the offensive line: center Mitch Morse, guards Quinton Spain, Spencer Long, and Jon Feliciano, and tackles Ty Nsekhe and LaAdrian Waddle as new members of Buffalo’s offensive line for 2019. They also drafted Cody Ford high in the second round.
With all these additions, and with how well Wyatt Teller played during Buffalo’s 24-16 win over the Indianapolis Colts in Week 1 of the preseason, it should come as no surprise that the Bills have parted ways with veteran guard Vladimir Ducasse, a move that is expected to save the team $2 million against the salary cap.
In a corresponding move, the Bills bolstered their defensive line, signing defensive end Sam Acho, who has appeared in 102 games (57 starts) over eight seasons in the NFL. Acho, a fourth-round pick in the 2011 NFL Draft by the Arizona Cardinals, spent the first four years of his career with the Cardinals before playing for the Chicago Bears the last four seasons.
Acho has amassed 252 tackles (24 for a loss) with 17 sacks, 11 pass breakups, 10 forced fumbles, 3 fumble recoveries and 3 interceptions in his career.
Ducasse, who enjoyed a resurgence at right guard in 2017, moved back to left guard for the 2018 season, with less-than-desirable results. After starting the season at left guard, Ducasse ceded snaps to Teller, eventually losing his starting role following a Week 9 loss to the Chicago Bears.
He appeared in ten games (nine starts) in 2018 as part of an underachieving left side of the line that, time and time again, failed to open holes for Buffalo’s running backs. Ducasse graded out at a 49.8 according to Pro Football Focus, good for 67th among all eligible guards. He committed four penalties and, remarkably, did not allow a sack.