The Bills have added a familiar face to the defense, signing veteran linebacker Brandon Spikes, his agent announced on twitter.
Congratulations to #TeamDEC client @brandonspikes55 on signing with @buffalobills #hesback
— DEC Management (@davidcanter) August 7, 2016
Spikes spent the 2014 season with the Bills and appeared in all 16 games.
He re-signed with New England the following offseason but was released after an early morning car crash in Massachusetts.
Spikes did not play a single down in 2015.
The Bills also added linebacker David Hawthorne, who played under Rob Ryan from from 2013-2015.
Happy to announce that former TCU linebacker and nfl veteran David Hawthorne is signing with the Buffalo Bills.
— Jordan Woy (@JordanWoy) August 7, 2016
Depth at the position is thinning out following the loss of secibd round pick Reggie Ragland, who suffered a non-contact knee injury during Friday's practice. Fellow linebacker Jamari Lattimore sat out Saturday's scrimmage with a broken nose as did Kevin Reddick, who reportedly has a sprained MCL.
NFL Reporter Ian Rapoport reported Saturday Ragland's MRI was inconclusive and that he'd be re-evaluated on Monday.
Prior to the scrimmage on Saturday, Head Coach Rex Ryan sounded less optimistic about the status of Ragland.
"We have to get the swelling out of there before we know exactly what it is. So however long that takes, we’re not real sure," he said. "But, with that being said there’s, obviously, with a knee there is a lot of concern. So we’ll have some guys come in, work some guys out tomorrow, see how that goes, you know, just in case."
Ryan told reporters on Friday he was confident there wasn't any ligament damage to Ragland's knee, but backed off those comments.
"I guess I was just so hopeful that there’s not going to be, you know, ligament things. My understanding is that as you get going, your leg’s so tight, you know, they’ll fight it. You don’t really get a true look of that," he added.
"So, as we mentioned we have to wait for that swelling to go down. I know everybody, every Bill fan, out there is hoping for the best and, you know, certainly that’s what we’re doing, but there is concern."
The loss of Ragland would be an added blow to the Bills defense, which is currently without first round pick Shaq Lawson who had shoulder surgery in May.
The Bills return to training camp on Monday.
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