Two weeks after Darian Barnes made his first two receptions of the season for the Bills, the club chose to make a change at the fullback position releasing Barnes in favor of free agent Corey McIntyre.
A true fullback like Barnes, McIntyre (6'0" 244) visited the Bills as a restricted free agent this past offseason on March 4 despite the fact that Barnes was already on the roster.
Obviously his most recent trip to Buffalo ended up far more fruitful for him.
"I'm here and I'm just going to go out there and do what I do and help this team continue it's climb up the mountain," McIntyre told Buffalobills.com.
McIntyre had re-signed with Atlanta on April 18 as he signed his restricted free agent tender with the club. But McIntyre was subsequently released by the Falcons on Sept. 2 as part of their final cuts.
"I've been busy working out at high schools hitting bags so I've been staying as active as I can," McIntyre said.
The three-year veteran turned 29 in January and has bounced around the league a bit as true fullback jobs become fewer and further between.
He appeared in 14 games for Atlanta in 2007 and has also played for New Orleans and Cleveland in his NFL career.
The biggest task facing the three-year veteran in the short term is getting down all of his assignments within Buffalo's offensive scheme.
"I feel like I've got some of the terminology down and over the next two days I've just got to study hard and get ready for Arizona," he said.
McIntyre may have been viewed by the Bills as a more valuable commodity than Barnes due to his versatility on special teams where he's played on all four units and served as a special teams captain.
"I've played the fullback role on kick return and done everything on special teams," said McIntyre. "I've done cover teams, return teams. I've done it all. That's where I've made my living and hopefully I can contribute to the offense as well and help Mr. Lynch and Mr. Jackson get more yards."
Last week Bills veteran guard Jason Whittle stepped in to play fullback with mixed results. Buffalo is currently ranked 21st in rushing despite a 4-0 record. McIntyre might be viewed as a player that can help jumpstart the ground game.
"I just want to jump in," said McIntyre. "I don't want to be a distraction. I just want to do what I do, which is have fun, go out and play hard."
