Best Remaining Free Agents for Bills' Glaring Roster Holes Include Former Buffalo Nose Tackle

The Bills could still use another linebacker and a big-bodied nose tackle, and there are a few remaining options on the market.

Bills defensive tackle Austin Johnson leaves the field following day seven. | Shawn Dowd/Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK

At this time of year, free agency has become slim pickings for teams like the Buffalo Bills, who still have a few roster holes they should address before taking the field for training camp.

The Bills’ most glaring needs with about a month and a half before they head for St. John Fisher University remain linebacker and on the interior defensive line at nose tackle. There are two players who remain available on the open market that would help the Bills fill those needs and stock their defense with as many capable players as possible entering defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard’s first season at the helm.

One is a former Bills defensive tackle and another is a veteran linebacker who simply makes too much sense for Buffalo at this point.

Austin Johnson, defensive tackle

Jacksonville Jaguars nose tackle Austin Johnson (99) before the game against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium. | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Casual Bills fans may not remember, but Johnson previously spent the 2024 season in Buffalo. He has boatloads of experience, having played 10 seasons in the NFL with five different teams, most recently the Jacksonville Jaguars.

During the 2025 campaign, Johnson played 14 games but was on the field for just 22% of his team’s defensive snaps. He still managed to record 12 tackles and a sack. With the Bills in ’24, he miraculously recorded two interceptions while adding 19 tackles over 15 games played.

Aside from his familiarity with the organization, another benefit of potentially bringing Johnson back is his versatility, which has allowed him to play various positions across the defensive front throughout his career. Listed at 6-foot-4, 314 pounds, he would instantly become one of the Bills’ most big-bodied defenders at the nose tackle position, where second-year pro Deone Walker is expected to sit atop the team’s depth chart.

The Bills drafted DT Zane Durant in the fifth round of the 2026 draft, which was the fourth pick that Buffalo has spent on a defensive tackle the past three seasons. Still, they could use more at the position after what we saw from this group a year ago, particularly one with a more sizable frame such as Johnson’s.

Bobby Okereke, linebacker

Bobby Okereke, inside linebacker with the NY Giants, speaks to the press after a practice at Quest Diagnostics Training Center, East Rutherford, NJ, May 28, 2025. | Anne-Marie Caruso/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

I feel like I’m beating a dead horse here, as I am certainly not the only person to consider Okereke as a prime free-agent option for the Bills. He has ties to Buffalo’s new inside linebackers coach John Egorugwu, which is the obvious connection one would make when considering him for a spot on the Bills’ roster.

With that said, the most attractive element associated with potentially adding Okereke is his vast production profile. This guy is a tackling machine, having finished tied for 10th in the NFL with 143 tackles during the 2025 campaign. It was his fourth season out of the last five in which he recorded 130 tackles or more.

There is some concern with his recent performance against opposing rushing attacks. He was awarded a 46.2 Pro Football Focus run-defense grade in 2025. That’s an area where Buffalo needs a boost at the second level, and subpar run support from its linebackers would be detrimental to the strides the Bills are trying to make on that side of the ball this season.

There aren’t a plethora of solid options left available, and Okereke’s veteran presence, along with his previous experience playing under Egorugwu make him a reasonable choice for the Bills in early June.