BUFFALO — The Buffalo Bills made multiple additions just before the 2023 NFL trade deadline.
Headlining them all was the signing of defensive tackle Linval Joseph of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands.
The 35-year-old Joseph has been around the block and back in the National Football League.
The Bills (5-3) will be Joseph’s fifth stop in the NFL after signing with the club as a free agent.
As a veteran, Joseph will have a chance to feature in Buffalo’s long-standing rotation on the defensive line.
How quickly he gets settled in will be the only question for him — and the team.
Joseph has 13 years of NFL experience, having played in 179 games. He has racked up 25.5 sacks and 56 tackles for a loss in his career.
Most impressively, he won a Super Bowl with the New York Giants. His first team selected him in the second round of the 2010 NFL draft. He won Super Bowl XLVI with the football Giants.
Joseph’s next team was the Minnesota Vikings, who he played for from 2016 to 2019. As a member of that team he made the Pro Bowl twice in 2016 and 2017.
He then played for the San Diego Chargers in 2020 and 2021. His last club was the Philadelphia Eagles in 2022.
A rash of injuries had put the Buffalo Bills’ season in doubt, but before Week 9’s festivities, general manager Brandon Beane brought in the reinforcements.
Cornerback Tre’Davious White, linebacker Matt Milano, and defensive tackle DaQuan Jones could very well be irreplaceable, but Buffalo is giving it a pretty good shot, without mortgaging the future.
Beane traded a third-round pick for cornerback Rasul Douglas and a fifth-round pick. He also signed running back Leonard Fournette to the practice squad and welcomed in defensive lineman Linval Joseph on a one-year deal.