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Buffalo Bills head coach Joe Brady will retain pieces of Sean McDermott's staff.
The Buffalo Bills brought on a familiar face as one of their first moves after the NFL draft.
After addressing several needs through the draft — and adding more picks through a series of trades to do it — the team quickly went to work in undrafted free agency. One of the first players signed is an offensive lineman whose father was a core member of the team’s Super Bowl teams in the early 1990s.
Bills Sign Legacy Player
As Ryan Miller of the Democrat & Chronicle reported, the Bills signed Duke offensive tackle Bruno Fina shortly after the NFL draft ended. He is the son of former Bills offensive lineman John Fina, the team’s first-round pick in 1992 who played 11 seasons and went to two Super Bowls.
John Fina remains a popular former player, hosting a Bills podcast and regularly engaging with fans.
As Miller noted, Bruno Fina was an important part of Duke’s offense, though he fell just short of the draft.
“Bruno Fina played two seasons at Duke after transferring from UCLA. He appeared in 44 career games with 38 starts and started all 14 games at left tackle for Duke in 2025,” Miller noted.
“Fina helped Duke’s offense set program records for total touchdowns and points. He protected quarterback Darian Mensah, who set Duke single-season records for passing yards, completions and touchdowns. The Blue Devils’ offense had a 3,000-yard passer, 1,000-yard rusher and 1,000-yard receiver for the first time in school history.”
The Bills signed several other undrafted free agents at the same time, addressing needs on both sides of the ball.
This is not the first time the Bills have landed the son of a former player. They also have running back Frank Gore Jr., son of the legendary running back who played for the Bills in the 2019 season.
Bills Addressed Offensive Line in Draft
While Fina will have the chance to compete for a roster spot, it could be a difficult task after the team addressed their offensive line in the NFL draft. The team landed guard Jude Bowry with their fourth-round pick, then took guard Ar’Maj Reed-Adams in the seventh round.
Bowry is seen as a potential starter, with NFL.com analyst Lance Zierlein noting that he has a high ceiling.
“Toolsy left tackle prospect carrying both a higher ceiling and lower floor,” Zierlein wrote. “Bowry is typically in the right place at the right time in protection. He has the feet to match edge speed but needs to improve hand usage and punch timing to firm up his outside edge/protect against bull rushers. He’s hit-or-miss as a drive blocker but the hits carry force and movement. Inconsistencies are a concern, but Bowry is a plus athlete who could be targeted as a swing tackle on the second or third day of the draft.”
While the Bills will need to replace starting offensive lineman David Edwards and versatile backup Ryan VanDemark, the team is set at several positions along the line and most of their new additions will be competing for reserve spots. That could leave Fina as a strong candidate for the practice squad, though the team has traditionally kept at least one undrafted free agent on the active roster for several years.
Nathan Dougherty is a sports reporter covering the NFL for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Buffalo Bills, Detroit Lions and Miami Dolphins. Previously he wrote for the Rochester Business Journal and served as the assistant editor of athletic trade magazines Coaching Management, Athletic Management and Training & Conditioning. He is based out of Rochester, New York, and loves everything football. More about Nathan Dougherty