Buffalo Bills

Buffalo Bills: 7 Best Free Agent Signings in Team History

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 12:00 p.m. ET

Fansided, Ryan Brennan/FanSided via BuffaLowDown

buffalo bills free agent

Bills QB Doug Flutie breaks away from Miami DE Trace Armstrong as Bills guard Jerry Ostroski blocks in a November 1998 game vs. the Dolphins. (Buffalo News file photo)

With the Buffalo Bills ready to tackle the offseason, let’s take a look back at the franchise’s 7 best free agent signings in team history.

The Buffalo Bills have a lot of free agents to review this offseason and since a good portion of them won’t return, the team will have a lot of roster holes to fill.

Those holes won’t all be filled in the draft, meaning Doug Whaley and his staff will have to search for some key pieces in free agency. Whaley did a great job last season filling holes through free agency in key areas. Players like Zach Brown and Lorenzo Alexander proved to be diamonds in the rough — both of them signed as a free agent.

Will we see that same kind of turnout this offseason? With needs at safety, wide receiver, defensive tackle, offensive lineman and possibly even quarterback and cornerback, the Buffalo Bills will definitely need a good turnout if they want to compete for the playoffs next year.

As the organization and fanbase prepare for the upcoming flurry of signings, let’s take a look back at the Buffalo Bills’ top-7 free agent signings in franchise history. It’s not something that happens often, but some signings do stand out.

We’ll start right away. The following players aren’t in any specific order.

Doug Flutie – 1998

The Buffalo Bills signing Doug Flutie in 1998 was not only a great free agent signing, but also a sad one for how the team handled it. At first, the team wasn’t very interested in adding him, but would be persuaded by A.J. Smith, the Bills’ pro-personnel director at the time.

Flutie was part of a quarterback controversy with Rob Johnson during his tenure with the team, but certainly deserved to be the outright starter no matter what. He originally took over as starter when Rob Johnson went down with an injury, leading the Bills to a fourth-quarter comeback in Week 6 (1998). He would go on to start the next 11 games, winning 8 of them.

In 1999, he would lead the Bills to a 10-5 record as starter and qualify for the playoffs. Mysteriously, head coach Wade Phillips decided to start Rob Johnson in that playoff game over Doug Flutie, a game that ended in a loss for Buffalo. Legend has it that the decision began a curse on the Buffalo Bills, which has contributed to a 17-year playoff drought.

If the Bills had just given Flutie the starting role permanently and built around him like they did in the Jim Kelly era, things might have turned out differently.

buffalo bills free agent

Mandatory Credit: Rick Stewart/Getty Images

LB Bryce Paup – 1995

Bryce Paup is arguably one of the best free agent signings in the history of the NFL and it came at a pivotal time in Buffalo Bills’ history — the final three years of the Marv levy era. He joined the Bills in 1995 as a free agent after spending his first four years with the Green Bay Packers.

He signed a 3-year, $7.6 million contract after the Packers failed to re-sign him. Feeling mistreated by the Packers, Paup had this to say about the situation:

“They didn’t think I was that good. They thought I was feeding off Reggie (White)”

With that, he moved to the Bills to work alongside Bruce Smith, who would later make it to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. In Paup’s first season with Buffalo, he would finish with 89 tackles, 17.5 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, 2 interceptions and 6 passes defended.

Paup would follow that up with 2 more dominant seasons, combining for 125 tackles, 15.5 sacks, 4 forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and 5 passes defended over that span. He would arguably go down as the franchise’s most explosive pass rusher.

Unfortunately, Paup grew tired of being in Buffalo after their offense started to show weakness and the team struggled to make any noise in the playoffs. He would sign a big contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars, but it wouldn’t go anywhere and Bryce Paup would never be the same.

He would later retire in 2000 and spends his days now as the defensive line coach for the University of Minnesota.

Mandatory Credit: Sgt. D.R. Cotton

LB London Fletcher – 2002

It’s unusual for a linebacker to go his entire career without having any issues with injuries, but London Fletcher accomplished that. In fact, Fletcher would become just one of four players in NFL history to never miss a game over his whole career, a career that lasted 256 games.

For that reason, he was an A+ free agent signing.

Fletcher would have a 5-year stay in Buffalo where he played in 80 consecutive games. His consistency over those 5 years are unmatched by many Bills’ players and it’s something Fletcher was able to accomplish throughout his entire career.

In his 16 years, he only finished with under 100 tackles in two of those years — his rookie and second year in the league. In addition, he would only have 2 seasons that fell under 111 tackles.

He originally signed with the Buffalo Bills in 2002 after spending his first four seasons with the St. Louis Rams. He would finish that season with 147 tackles, 3 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries and 2 stuffs. Over the next four years in Buffalo, he would finish with 133 tackles, 142 tackles, 157 tackles and 146 tackles.

Over that 4-year span, he would also finish with a combined 11.5 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, 5 fumble recoveries, 5 interceptions and 24 stuffs.

Fletcher would leave the Buffalo Bills in 2007 when he signed with the Washington Redskins. He would play there for the next 7 years before retiring after the 2013 season. In those 7 years, he would finish with 128, 133, 142, 136, 166, 139 and 111 tackles.

Truly one of the most consistent linebackers in the history of the game.

Credit: Buffalo Bills

LB Takeo Spikes – 2003

Takeo Spikes would join the Buffalo Bills in 2003 as a free agent after spending his first five years with the Cincinnati Bengals, where he only missed one game over that five-year span.

Spikes would also finish each of those seasons (with the Bengals) over 100 tackles, a combined 14.5 sacks, 11 fumble recoveries and 5 interceptions.

He would sign a 6-year, $32 million contract with Buffalo, but would only play with the team for four of those years. He left the Bengals because he reportedly wanted to play for a playoff team, a decision that would bring some irony due to the fact that the Bills wouldn’t make the playoffs with him in town.

Takeo Spikes would earn his first Pro Bowl selection with the Bills in 2003. Fletcher finished that season with 126 tackles (2 less than his career high), 2 sacks, one forced fumble, 2 fumble recoveries, 2 interceptions, 8 passes defended and 3 stuffs.

He would follow that up with another productive season for Buffalo, finishing the 2004 season with 96 tackles, 3 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, 5 interceptions, 16 passes defended and 9 stuffs. It would mark the first time in his career that he didn’t have over 100 tackles — a feat he wouldn’t achieve again until 2010 and 2011.

In 2005, Spikes would have his season end short when he tore his right Achilles’ tendon in Week 3. He would have more injury troubles early in 2006, but would appear in the final 12 games.

The Buffalo Bills would trade him ahead of the 2007 season, along with Kelly Holcomb, to the Philadelphia Eagles. The Bills received Darwin Walker and a 2008 draft pick. Spikes would retire after the 2012 season.

He played for five different teams and totaled 29 sacks, 15 forced fumbles, 17 fumble recoveries, 19 interceptions and 46 stuffs in his career.

buffalo bills free agent

Mandatory Credit: George Gojkovich/Getty Images

DT Ted Washington – 1995

Ted Washington was a part of a scandal with the San Francisco 49ers early in his career, but looked to turn a new leaf in Buffalo. After spending three years with the 49ers and then one year with the Broncos, he signed with the Bills as an unrestricted free agent.

He would stay with the team for the next six years and enjoy his best years in the NFL with the Buffalo Bills, making him a great free agent signing.

Ted Washington would be a great compliment to Bruce Smith and would help the Bills to the playoffs in four of those six years, although they would lose in the Wild Card three of those times. He was a consistent player, not missing one game in his stint with the Buffalo Bills.

After tying a career high in 1995 (first season with Buffalo) with 53 tackles, Washington would follow that up with 93 tackles in 1996 and 80 in 1997. In those three years, he combined for 10 sacks.

In his final three years with Buffalo, he would only finish with 49 tackles, 45 tackles and 58 tackles, while combining for another 9.5 sacks. His production with the 6 teams he played for in his 17 seasons wouldn’t match what he was able to do in Buffalo.

Ted Washington was also named to three Pro Bowls in 1996, 1997 and 2000. He would leave the Bills after the 2000 season, due to the team having cap space issues. Washington refused to take a pay cut for the second consecutive season, leading to his departure.

Washington retired in 2007.

Mandatory Credit: Buffalo Bills

WR James Lofton – 1989

James Lofton is most known for his time with the Green Bay Packers, which was the main reason he made it to the NFL Hall of Fame. That’s not to mention he didn’t have a good career with the other teams he played for.

In fact, the four years he spent with the Bills after signing as a free agent near the end of his career were still very productive.

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The Buffalo Bills signed Lofton in 1989 and was with the team for three of the franchise’s trips to the Super Bowl. He was a great compliment to Andre Reed and turned out some nice numbers himself.

In his first year with the Bills, which ended in a loss in the divisional playoffs, Lofton only started 2 games and had 166 yards and 3 TD on 8 catches — sound like Justin Hunter at all? Given a bigger role, he started 14 games in 1990 and finished with 35 catches, 712 yards and 4 touchdowns. He helped the team to their first Super Bowl in franchise history, which started a string of four straight.

In his third season with the Buffalo Bills (1991), James Lofton became the oldest player to finish a season with 1,000 yards receiving, a feat he hadn’t accomplished since 1985 with the Packers. He started 15 games that season and finished with 57 catches, 1,072 yards and 8 touchdowns.

In his final season with the team, he had 51 catches for 786 yards and 6 touchdowns. Unfortunately, the 1992 season would mark the end of his career. He spent the 1993 season with two different teams, but only started in 2 games.

Lofton retired in 1993 and was later inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2003.

Mandatory Credit: Buffalo Bills

C Kent Hull – 1986

Kent Hull broke onto the scene as a member of the New Jersey Generals, a team in the USFL from 1983-1985. He was the center that paved the way for former Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker for those three years. He would begin his NFL career with the Buffalo Bills in 1986 and was immediately named the team’s starter.

The 1986 season was a pivotal year for Buffalo, which saw Marv Levy take over as head coach after 9 games. After going 2-5 the rest of the year and 7-8 the next season, Hull and Levy would receive Thurman Thomas through the draft. The rest is history — the history we know so well.

Kent Hull would be a key part of the Bills’ offense and it lasted his whole career in the NFL. He would spend 11 years in the league, all with Buffalo. He was very reliable, only missing 6 games in that span.

Hull was selected to the Pro Bowl in 1988, 1989 and 1990 paving the way for Thurman Thomas. With Hull, Thomas started his career with 1,000 yards in 8 of 9 seasons. Ironically, Thomas’ last 1,000 yard season came right before Hull retired. That goes to show the importance of having Kent Hull on this team.

In 2013, the state of Mississippi inherited the Kent Hull Trophy, which is given out to the best collegiate offensive lineman in the state of Mississippi. Hull was part of an unfortunate death in 2011 that was caused from a gastrointestinal bleed that rooted from chronic liver disease.

Did we miss anybody? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below!