David Quessenberry Adds to Bills' Extraordinary OL Depth
Quality offensive line depth is the rarest find in the NFL since the free agency era began, which is what makes what the Buffalo Bills have done recently in that area all that more remarkable.
Thursday, they added to an already strong collection by signing veteran free agent David Quessenberry, whom they're calling a guard but last season started every game for the Tennessee Titans at right tackle.
His addition means the Bills have five reserve offensive linemen (Quessenberry, Ike Boettger, Greg Mancz, Cody Ford and Bobby Hart) who have combined to start 168 regular-season games. All save Hart have starting playoff experience as well.
Quessenberry comes with a unique story. Because he struggled early in his career on top of being diagnosed with non-Hodgkins Lymphoma after being drafted by the Houston Texans in 2013, he didn't play in his first game until 2017 and didn't start his first one until 2020, his second season with the Titans.
"Basically that fight took about three years," Quessenberry told reporters in a Zoom press conference Thursday afternoon. "That was a mountain to climb around in my career, and thankfully we beat it, we overcame it and, you know, we're in a really good place now. We put some really good years together and now we're looking to keep that rolling up here in Buffalo."
The Bills say they haven't handed the right guard spot to Ryan Bates, but after matching the offer sheet he signed with the Chicago Bears as a free agent, they don't expect him to lose grip of the job that he will start the offseason with after emerging as the top guard on their depth chart by the end of last season.
Newcomer Saffold, who also played with Quessenberry on the Titans' line last season, will start on the left side. Left tackle Dion Dawkins, right tackle Spencer Brown and center Mitch Morse comprise the rest of the starters, giving the Bills and new offensive line coach give Aaron Kromer perhaps more overall talent to work with than any team in the league.
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Nick Fierro is the publisher of Bills Central. Check out the latest Bills news at www.si.com/nfl/bills and follow Fierro on Twitter at @NickFierro. Email to Nicky300@aol.com.
