Sam Rayburn could become familiar name to Bills’ fans

By Anthony Bialy  |   Monday, May 21, 2007  |  Comments( 24 )

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Sam Rayburn the politician, the late congressman from Texas and longtime Speaker of the House, might be more recognizable to casual football fans than Sam Rayburn the defensive lineman. But Buffalo Bills fans may get to learn more about the physically larger but historically smaller Rayburn if he signs with the squad following his recent visit to Orchard Park.

He sounds like the sort who could be effective as a component in a rotation; considering that fresh guys playing short shifts is the stated philosophy of the team's interior defensive line approach, Buffalo could be a mutually ideal destination for him.

Rayburn is a former Eagle; he was released by the team as it's stocked at defensive tackle, having added free agents Ian Scott and Montae Reagor in recent days. With the new two, the Eagles currently have six listed DTs, allowing them to cut the man who would have been seventh. Rayburn was hurt over parts of the past two seasons, which led to him missing five of last year's games. As such, he was expendable. He had no sacks in 2006 while dealing with numerous injuries such as elbow and shoulder troubles along with the infamous stinger.

Still, when he's been well enough to play, Rayburn has been a hard worker who has efficiently gotten decent stats in limited time, including his best showing in 2004 when he tallied six sacks while playing in every game. He has a total of nine sacks in his 52 career games, many of those in a reserve role.

Even though he was redundant in Philadelphia, Rayburn fits the concept the Bills have for smaller, mobile guys at his position. At 6-foot-3 and 303 pounds, he's more in the mold of the nose tackle's comparatively little buddy rather than being the sort of impossibly massive body that affects the tides; of course, the Bills don't really have, nor are they looking for, an utter giant in the middle, so it's possible he could line up there, too, even if he's not quite the size of a traditional NT.

Giving him a chance to be part of the platoon would be worth it: The philosophy didn't work last year, so a new guy who has performed OK in a role where he didn't play every down could help a team that doesn't expect any of their defensive tackles to be out there for an entire series. If Rayburn can stay healthy, he could be valuable.

The question is, Do the Bills need or even want another Philadelphia defensive tackle? Buffalo also has six current DTs, but one of them is erstwhile Eagle Darwin Walker, who is making a stink because he doesn't like the contract he happened to sign; the lesson is read and be committed to what you put your name to, kids. But Rayburn, who started NFL life as an undrafted free agent out of Tulsa, probably won't have the same financial delusions. Also, as he's currently sans contract, Rayburn will of course have to start negotiations fresh, and it's unlikely he'll end up moaning about a deal that the ink hasn't dried on yet.

The Bills should remember that not all former Eagles are the same and consider adding Rayburn as a depth guy who has actually done something in limited playing time. If Walker continues his petulance, the team may discover that his one-time teammate could be his replacement.

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