Buffalo Bills release fullback Patrick DiMarco with injury settlement

The Buffalo Bills placed fullback Patrick DiMarco on injured reserve prior to roster cutdowns due to a neck injury. Today, the Bills released the nine-year veteran from IR with an injury settlement.

DiMarco, who turned 31 this past April, has been a member of the Bills since signing a four-year contract in March 2017. The durable veteran didn’t miss a game in Buffalo, playing an average of 200 offensive snaps per season with the Bills. That average is skewed a bit thanks to his first year with the team, as DiMarco appeared on 25% of the offensive snaps upon arrival. In 2018 and 2019, DiMarco appeared on just 16% of the snaps each season.

While his role on offense was limited, DiMarco was a stalwart performer on Buffalo’s special teams units. He played on 39% of the special teams snaps in 2017, 53% of the snaps in 2018, and 37% of the snaps last season.

While on the shelf with the injury, the veteran was replaced by FB/TE hybrid Reggie Gilliam, an undrafted rookie out of Toledo. DiMarco himself entered the league as an undrafted free agent in 2011 with the San Diego (now Los Angeles) Chargers. He didn’t appear in a game for the team, making his debut in 2012 as a member of the Kansas City Chiefs. DiMarco then moved on to play with the Atlanta Falcons, where he made a name for himself as one of the league’s better blocking fullbacks.

For his career, DiMarco has seven carries for 14 yards, and he’s added 52 receptions for 404 yards and four touchdowns.

DiMarco could theoretically be back with the Bills in 2020. An injury settlement usually pays a player for the weeks they agree with the team that they will be unhealthy. Six weeks after the settlement ends, DiMarco can re-sign in Buffalo. That’s unlikely to happen in this case, but still a possibility. The Bills pulled the move with Senorise Perry last year. If Buffalo had wanted him to come back, they could have waited a few days to put him on IR and he could have returned after three weeks.