Bills sign Morrison

Chan Gailey and Buddy Nix were not satisfied with the look of their Inside Linebackers during camp so they decided to add another body; they signed Kirk Morrison to a 1 year, $2 Million deal.

Morrison, formerly of the Oakland Raiders and Jacksonville Jaguars was one of the league leaders in tackles in his first 6 years in the NFL. He averaged 120 tackles while starting every game in his 6 NFL campaigns.

Before being traded to Jacksonville last year he was a stud in Oakland. He didn't have a season under 115 tackles and had 7 interceptions in the 5 seasons which is solid for an ILB. However, his performance dropped last year in Jacksonville's 4-3 defense. He only had 89 tackles and not a single sack, interception or forced fumble.

This is a great signing for the Bills who are weak at ILB other than Nick Barnett. Without this signing it was looking like Reggie Torbor, Kelvin Sheppard or Andra Davis were going start alongside Barnett. Only Davis looked serviceable in the preseason while Sheppard and Torbor were disappointments. Sheppard should be a solid starter in the future but as a third round pick, he needs time to acclimate himself to the NFL game.

The Bills starting linebackers now look to be Shawne Merriman, Nick Barnett, Kirk Morrison and Chris Kelsay.

If Merriman can stay healthy and regain his San Diego form and Morrison can play like he did in Oakland the Linebackers can match the potential as the Defensive Line with Kyle Williams, Dareus and Dwan Edwards.

Another benefit of this move it the possibility to move Arthur Moats back to Outside Linebacker, where he succeeded in 2010. Before Training Camp Head Coach Chan Gailey decided to move Moats to ILB as a depth move and Moats has not been able to grasp the position. I believe he is better off as a pass rusher on the outside and this signing should allow him to move back to his natural position.