BEREA, Ohio — Greg Gaines was tired of sitting on the couch. He wanted to go back to work.
And the Buffalo Bills were the team to spring him loose.
Gaines is entering his eighth NFL season, most of which has been spent as a rotational nose tackle. He did, however, start 13 games for the Los Angeles Rams en route to winning the Super Bowl in 2021.
At 6-foot-1 and 312 pounds, Gaines has a specific skill set that fits a certain defense. He had other opportunities to sign elsewhere, but Gaines knew what he was looking for. And the Bills checked all the boxes.
Gaines got a call at 4 p.m. Monday and was asked if he wanted to workout for the Bills Tuesday. His flight to Buffalo was at 7 p.m. So he packed a bag and was at the airport 45 minutes later.
"This is a good, winning program and thought I'd fit in well here with this defensive scheme," Gaines said after a joint practice with the Browns Thursday.
Gaines, 30, was a fourth-round pick of the Rams in 2019. And after not starting any of the 26 games he played over his first two seasons, Gaines started 25 of 33 over his final two seasons in Los Angeles . He spent the last three seasons — starting nine games — with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers , serving primarily as the backup to Pro Bowler and college teammate Vita Vea .
Vea, who was seeking a contract extension, requested a trade earlier this month. The Bills were among the teams to contact Tampa Bay about him, but Vea ultimately agreed to a one-year, $30 million extension. The Bills signed his old backup instead.
So less than two days after signing with the Bills, Gaines participated in Thursday's joint practice, mainly playing with the second- and third-team defense. Gaines might need a few practices to get going, but the Bills don't expect a long transition period — at least not anymore.
"It's having a vet in the room," Bills coach Joe Brady said. "We need to compete at every position, in every room that we have. … We're always seeing what else is out there. I've been around Gaines for two days and he's kind of like a no-nonsense guy. We thought there'd be a ramp-up period and he's like, 'No. I'll be ready to go.'"
The Bills are thin at nose tackle since switching to a 3-4 from a 4-3 during the offseason. Even with starter Deone Walker , the Bills haven't committed to him being best suited to play nose tackle.
Former third-round pick DeWayne Carter was pegged to be Walker's backup after adding 25 pounds during the offseason. But not only is Carter coming off a torn Achilles tendon, but he's never played nose tackle in a 3-4.
Carter struggled early in training camp and Phidarian Mathis briefly jumped him on the depth chart. But Mathis is set to serve a three-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs, leaving the Bills thin again.
Should Gaines do enough over the next few weeks to warrant a roster spot, don't expect many splash plays from him. He's only got 16 tackles for a loss and 14 ½ sacks in 108 career games, but his job is to create space for teammates to make big plays.
And it's beneficial that he's basically only played 3-4 defenses during his career.
"It's just the same defense I've been running my whole life, pretty much," Gaines said. "So it's an easy plug and play."
