The Buffalo Bills have added some beef to their defensive line, signing nose tackle Eli Ankou, according to Sal Capaccio of WGR 550. Ankou is Canadian and has had seven stints with six NFL teams. He worked out for the Bills last month.
After signing as an undrafted free agent with the Houston Texans in 2017, he was released at final cuts. He ended up being claimed by the Jacksonville Jaguars where he spent the 2017 and 2018 seasons playing in 11 games racking up 1.5 sacks and 19 tackles. He started 2019 on the Jaguars’ practice squad before being signed by the Cleveland Browns, where he played in nine games making seven tackles. After being waived to start the 2020 season and claimed by the Indianapolis Colts off waivers, he spent five weeks inactive before being waived. He was claimed off waivers by the Texans. Two weeks later they traded him to the Dallas Cowboys, where he appeared in seven games. In May 2021 he signed with the Atlanta Falcons but was released in June.
Quite the journey.
In Buffalo, he has a chance to stick as the backup 1-tech defensive tackle if Harrison Phillips can’t show he’s fully recovered from his 2019 ACL surgery. With how many defensive linemen are ahead of him, he feels more like a quality insurance policy at this point.