GM Brandon Beane is swapping some talent in and out of the Bills’ position battles to find contributors at every level.
It’s seen some players come and go, and this week was no exception.
The team announced Wednesday that they are signing former Army West Point linebacker Jimmy Ciarlo to a one-year deal. Ciarlo enters his second year as an NFL player after serving as a team captain for the 2023 season with Army, recording 58 tackles and 5.5 tackles for a loss.
Ciarlo, a Ringwood, New Jersey native, played on the Jets last season but did not appear in any regular-season games after being placed on injured reserve.
He will wear No. 35 for the Bills, who, in a corresponding move, designated LB Baylon Spector as waived/injured.
The club is also bringing in a 29-year-old defensive end with Super Bowl experience.
After releasing Kameron Cline on Monday, Buffalo signed seven-year vet Justin Hollins to the 90-man roster.
Cline had been on the Bills’ practice squad during stints over the past two seasons, and they brought him back after waiving undrafted rookie Hayden Harris due to a bilateral hamstring issue.
Hollins joins a talent pool now including eight defensive ends during training camp. Joey Bosa, Greg Rousseau, AJ Epenesa, Javon Solomon, Michael Hoecht, third-round rookie Landon Jackson, and undrafted rookie Paris Shand have all been competing at the position group.
A 2019 fifth-round draft pick out of Oregon, the 6-foot-5 Hollins has had 67 career NFL regular-season appearances with 10.5 sacks, 123 tackles, and 10 tackles for loss after being drafted with the No. 156 overall selection in the 2019 NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos. He made 15 appearances in 266 defensive snaps as a rookie, and the Broncos waived him before the 2020 regular season opener.
He landed with the Los Angeles Rams, playing in 16 games in 2020, and was limited to seven games in 2021 due to an injury. He was active in all four playoff games, including Super Bowl LVI, however, with a tackle in 27 total snaps on defense and special teams in the Rams’ 23-20 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
On the Bills, he reunites with former Rams Super Bowl teammates, offensive guard David Edwards and safety Taylor Rapp.
The outside linebacker has seen time with the Green Bay Packers, New York Giants, and Los Angeles Chargers in 2023 and did not dress on game days in 2024.
This article originally appeared on Bills Wire: Buffalo Bills sign LB Jimmy Ciarlo, DE Justin Hollins amid injury struggles
Reporting by David Benjamin De Cristofaro, Bills Wire / Bills Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
