Tom Brady is sacked in the fourth quarter by Eli Harold #57 of the Detroit Lions. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
ORCHARD PARK, NY (Chris Brown, BuffaloBills.com) – The 2019 NFL draft is only two weeks away, but it hasn’t kept the Bills from mining for more depth for their roster in free agency. On Wednesday, Buffalo signed free agent defensive end Eli Harold.
Harold, 25, played last season for the Detroit Lions at outside linebacker and a situational pass rusher after he was acquired via trade from the San Francisco 49ers last August. The Virginia Beach product, who played his high school football at Ocean Lakes, left the University of Virginia as No. 10 on UVA’s all-time career tackles for loss list (36.5).
Eli Harold #57 of the Detroit Lions. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
He appeared in 13 games for the Lions, contributing eight tackles, a single season career-high four sacks and a pass breakup.
Harold was also a starting strong side linebacker for the 49ers in 2016 and 2017 making 24 starts over those two seasons. He posted 71 tackles and five sacks in that span after San Francisco made him a third-round pick in 2015 NFL draft.
The Bills see promising pass rush potential in the long and lanky framed Harold (6-3, 243) and are expected to line him up at defensive end. This only increases the depth of competition at the position as Harold is now the sixth defensive end on Buffalo’s current roster.
