Buffalo Bills sign defensive tackles Justin Zimmer, Tanzel Smart

The Buffalo Bills bolstered their depth at defensive tackle Sunday morning, signing free agents Justin Zimmer and Tanzel Smart. To make room on the 81-man roster, they waived wide receiver Nick Easley and waived defensive tackle Niles Scott with an injury designation.

Zimmer, 27, initially entered the league as an undrafted free agent when he signed with the Bills following the 2016 NFL Draft. He did not make the squad and was waived on August 30 of that year. After spending time on the New Orleans Saints practice squad, he played in the CFL with the Montreal Alouettes in 2017. He made his NFL debut with the Atlanta Falcons in 2018. He also spent time on the Cleveland Browns’ roster at the end of 2019. For his NFL career, Zimmer has five tackles.

Smart, 25, played with the Los Angeles Rams for the last three years. They drafted him in the sixth round (No. 189 overall) in the 2017 NFL Draft. Smart made four starts as a rookie, and he totaled 14 tackles, a pass breakup, and a quarterback hit during his rookie season. After registering zero statistics in two games during the 2018 season, Smart added seven tackles to his ledger in 2019. The Rams released Smart in May.

Easley spent the 2019 season on Buffalo’s practice squad, and with a logjam at the receiver position, it was clear that he would end up waived at the end of the summer. Scott signed with Buffalo just two weeks ago.