The Buffalo Bills have re-signed linebacker Tyrel Dodson on Thursday. That update comes according to the player himself.
Dodson took to his social media account on Twitter and posted a photo of him signing paperwork.
That all but seals the news:
I AM GRATEFUL!! Man!! #BillsMafia pic.twitter.com/8AFMcXjEm6
— Tyrel Dodson (@tdots25) February 10, 2022
Dodson was slated to be an exclusive rights free agent. An ERFA means a player is a free agent and has just two for fewer accrued seasons in the NFL as their contract expiries.
The ERFA status makes things easy for a team.
The Bills just have to extend a qualifying offer to the player. Once doing so, the , in this case Dodson, has to sign the one-year contract at the league minimum and cannot negotiate with other teams. It’s essentially sign or sit out.
Dodson is the Bills’ lone player that was slated to be an ERFA this offseason.
Despite the team-favored contract status, bringing back Dodson is a smart play by Buffalo. Over the course of his first two seasons, he has become a key special teams player for the Bills.
As a rookie in 2020, he played in 49 percent of the team’s snaps on special teams while also proving his worth as a backup linebacker. Dodson played in 26 percent of snaps on defense in his first year, having the versatility to spell both starters Matt Milano and Tremaine Edmunds.
This past year, Dodson did not play on defense much at all, but his role still increased. After appearing in 10 games as a rookie, he saw action in 16 in 2021 and played in 67 percent of Buffalo’s special teams snaps.
The Bills also just promoted Matthew Smiley as their special teams coordinator this week. That’s likely a good sign that Smiley likes what Dodson brings.
The Bills signed Dodson an a UDFA following the 2019 NFL draft.