The Buffalo Bills filled a practice-squad opening by bringing back a name they know well: Austin Johnson.
Buffalo had room after the Miami Dolphins signed Andre Jones Jr. off the practice squad to their 53-man roster. The Bills looked at six players over the past few days, but none of those workouts led to a signing. Instead, they turned to Johnson, a veteran defensive lineman who spent the 2024 season with the team.
Johnson, 32, appeared in 15 games for Buffalo last year and finished with 19 total tackles, 0.5 sacks and two interceptions.
His resume stretches well beyond his time in Buffalo. Johnson has also played for the Tennessee Titans from 2016-2019, the New York Giants from 2020-2021, the Los Angeles Chargers from 2022-2023 and the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2025. The Titans selected him in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft, No. 43 overall, after his college career at Penn State.
For now, Johnson is only on the practice squad and is not locked into a move to the active roster. Still, Buffalo’s defensive line has been hit hard by injuries, which gives the signing real relevance.
Rookie Zane Durant was placed on injured reserve at the end of August, veteran Ed Oliver missed the Week 2 win over the Detroit Lions because of a hip injury in warmups, and second-year lineman T.J. Sanders has been inactive through the first two weeks with a knee injury.
Sanders’ situation got worse earlier this week when the team said he underwent an appendectomy.
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