The Buffalo Bills have a glaring hole on their 53-man roster ahead of Week 1 of the 2023 NFL season. After losing Tremaine Edmunds in free agency, there is no clear-cut option to replace the absent Pro Bowl LB and play next to Matt Milano. Until now, that is, because the Bills have signed former Houston Texans LB Christian Kirksey.

“Former #Texans captain and starting LB Christian Kirksey, a surprise cut on Tuesday, is planning to sign with the #Bills practice squad now that he has landed there, source said. He prioritized winning,” tweeted NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport.

Kirksey is a soon-to-be 31-year-old (Happy Birthday on August 31!) nine-year NFL veteran who has played for the Cleveland Browns, Green Bay Packers, and Texans.

The 2014 third-round pick was a tackling machine early in his career with the Browns but has struggled mightily with injuries in the last few seasons. Kirksey has ended four consecutive seasons, from 2018 to 2021, on injured reserve.

He did play all 17 games last season, but a 2023 preseason hamstring injury that kept him out of all three Texans preseason games is one of the main reasons new head coach DeMeco Ryans let the veteran go.

If Kirksey can stay healthy, the defender will be a massive upgrade at off-ball linebacker over the players that are currently on the Bills 53-man roster heading into Week 1 of the 2023 season. Tyrel Dodson, Terrel Bernard, rookie Dorian Williams, and special teams specialist Tyler Matakevich are the players who got a shot to fill Edmunds' shoes, but none took the mantle in the preseason, which is why Buffalo had to sign Kirksey once he became available.