The UDFA looks to make an impact this summer
The Buffalo Bills love for their linebackers to be plus-athletes. Given that they typically play two linebackers at a time, this makes sense. The linebackers in head coach Sean McDermott’s defense have a lot of responsibility in coverage, and they need to be quick mental-processors as well as great athletes.
Another trait that’s important for Bills linebackers, especially those who will be reserves, is a tenacity on special teams. If they’re willing to cover kicks, they have a shot at making the team. And, if they do it well? They’ll likely have a job for a long time, as the team has made a strong special teams core a priority.
In today’s edition of our “91 players in 91 days” series, we profile an undrafted rookie who will need to excel in the game’s third phase in order to make a good impression this summer.
Name: Shayne Simon
Number: 49
Position: LB
Height/Weight: 6’2”, 230 pounds
Age: 24 (25 on 3/14/2025)
Experience/Draft: R; signed with Bills as UDFA following the 2024 NFL Draft
College: Pitt
Acquired: UDFA signing
Financial situation (per Spotrac): Simon signed a one-year deal with no guarantees following a tryout with the Bills in rookie minicamp. That deal is worth a total of $795,000 if he makes the 53-man roster, but Buffalo will carry no dead-cap money if they release him.
2023 Recap: Simon played 12 games for the Panthers last year, his second year with the squad after playing for Notre Dame for four years prior. Simon had 48 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, and five sacks, all of which were career-high totals. He also had two pass breakups to bring his total with Pitt to eight over his two years there. He wasn’t invited to the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine, but he ran a 4.75-second 40-yard dash at Pitt’s pro day. He also benched 225 pounds a total of 23 times, showed off a 34.5” vertical jump, and completed the three-cone drill in 7.13 seconds.
Positional outlook: Simon joins a linebacker group in flux, as the Bills look to build depth after injuries decimated the group last season. Matt Milano, Terrel Bernard, Dorian Williams, Baylon Spector, Joe Andreessen, Nicholas Morrow, Deion Jones, and Edefuan Ulofoshio are the other off-ball linebackers on the roster.
2024 Offseason: Simon is healthy and participated in OTAs and mandatory minicamp.
2024 Season outlook: Barring some sort of crazy showing this summer, Simon is likely trying to impress enough to show the coaching staff that he should remain on the practice squad. His lack of college production combined with average-at-best measurables don’t stand out much, and in a group that has two studs at the top and a few more players who have had greater production at both the NCAA and professional levels, it’s hard to rank Simon any higher than eighth out of this nine-man group. He’s a long shot to make even the practice squad.