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Bills could bring back AJ Epenesa.

The Buffalo Bills could make an intriguing move after the NFL Draft to bring back a familiar name.

Buffalo has been searching for an impact pass rusher for years, and the Bills have drafted a couple of them. One of the players the Bills drafted was AJ Epenesa, who remains a free agent, after he had a deal in place with the Cleveland Browns, but it fell through due to an issue with his physical.

Now, Bills analyst Brandon Ray of FanSided urges Buffalo to bring back Epenesa to bolster the pass rush depth.

“Epenesa remains a free agent and now that Rousseau is moving to outside linebacker, the Bills may want to strongly consider bringing back Epenesa for a third go-around in his career,” Ray wrote. “Epenesa knows Buffalo and he was a solid pass rusher who was consistently bringing pressure. …

“The Bills have a need at edge rusher. While they should look to draft one or two in next week’s NFL Draft, bringing back Epenesa would give them a quality veteran who has had success in Buffalo. Now, it just depends on whether or not Leonhard thinks that Epenesa would be a great fit for his scheme. That could be the difference maker.”

The Bills selected Epenesa in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft. He recorded 2.5 sacks last season, and his best years were in 2022 and 2023 when he had 6.5 sacks each, and had 6 sacks in 2024.

Epenesa is more of a rotational player at this stage of his career, but would add some much-needed depth to Buffalo.

Bills Making Change to Greg Rousseau

Buffalo bringing back Epenesa does make sense as the Bills plan to make a change to Rousseau’s position.

With the Bills changing to a 3-4 defense under Jim Leonhard, general manager Brandon Beane said the plan is to make Rousseau an outside linebacker.

“Yeah, I think he’ll be on the outside ‘backer,” Beane said to The Athletic. “You’re not gonna see him dropping [into coverage] as much as you would some other guys. But he can still do it enough — he might do it one time a game. Could he go play the 4i? Yeah, he could. I don’t know if you’re getting his value there, to be honest.

“It doesn’t mean he couldn’t do it. I think he’s versatile enough. Like anything, if we needed him to go do it, if these guys are like, ‘man, you’re the best guy,’ Greg would. But we see him in the outside ‘backer group, not that 3-4, 5-tech, 4i type stuff.”

Buffalo selected Rousseau in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft. He recorded 46 tackles, 7 sacks, and 1 forced fumble last season.

Browns Pass on Signing Epenesa

Cleveland had a deal in place with Epenesa in late March, but the team opted not to sign him.

Browns insider Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN reported that Cleveland opted not to finalize the one-year, $5 million deal after an issue with his physical.

“The Cleveland Browns will not be signing AJ Epenesa, with the team uncomfortable finalizing the deal after the veteran defensive end had his physical, a source told ESPN on Sunday,” Oyefusi wrote.

Now, with Epenesa back on the market, he may have to sign for even less on a one-year prove-it deal.