The Bills waived one linebacker and signed another late Friday. Nic Harris, an inside linebacker candidate and former fifth-round pick was waived after failing the team's physical. Replacing Harris on the roster is free agent linebacker Donovan Woods.
Woods (6'2" 230) has been mainly an inside linebacker that has spent the past two seasons primarily with the Pittsburgh Steelers where he appeared in six games, mostly on special teams. He was released by the Steelers on Nov. 22nd last year and was quickly signed by the Dallas Cowboys to their practice squad where he spent the rest of the 2009 season.
The Oklahoma State product was released by the Cowboys just last week after they needed to make roster moves to make room for their newly signed draft choices. Having been with those two NFL clubs Woods is well versed in 3-4 defensive systems.
For Harris it's been a difficult offseason. He suffered a knee injury late in the 2009 campaign that required surgery and missed all of the spring workouts. His knee still had not recovered sufficiently enough to pass a physical at training camp and the club waived him.
Other NFL clubs have 24 hours to claim Harris if they so choose. If he clears waivers the Bills will have the option of either terminating his contract or placing him on Reserve/PUP.
Harris appeared in 15 games for the Bills last season, mainly on special teams with two starts including Week 16 at Atlanta when he made a career-high 12 tackles.
Buffalo needed another healthy inside linebacker on their roster. With Keith Ellison and Paul Posluszny not participating at the outset of camp, along with Harris, the Bills were left with just four healthy inside linebackers.
