Bills Sign Jeremy Kerley, Tenny Palepoi to 1-Year Contracts

Featured ColumnistApril 16, 2018

NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 15: Jeremy Kerley #14 of the New York Jets celebrates in an NFL football game against the New England Patriots on October 15, 2017 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Patriots won 24-17. (Photo by Paul Bereswill/Getty Images)

Paul Bereswill/Getty Images

The Buffalo Bills signed wide receiver Jeremy Kerley and defensive tackle Tenny Palepoi to one-year contracts Monday, according to Chris Brown of BuffaloBills.com.

Mike Rodak of ESPN.com and Brown analyzed the potential role each player could fill next season:

Mike Rodak @mikerodak
The Bills on Monday signed WR Jeremy Kerley and DT Tenny Palepoi. Kerley could compete for a role alongside Kelvin Benjamin and Zay Jones, while Palepoi projects more as a depth option behind Star Lotulelei and Kyle Williams. https://t.co/FVhWTNkRrM

Chris Brown @ChrisBrownBills
The Kerley signing makes him a favorite to land the slot role. Might it reduce the multiple position responsibilities Zay Jones had in offense last yr & move him outside exclusively?

Kerley, 29, had 22 receptions for 217 yards and a touchdown in eight games for the New York Jets last season. He earned an average grade of 73.7 from Pro Football Focus for his efforts.

In November, the NFL suspended him four games for taking a banned substance, though Kerley had a creative excuse for that, per Calvin Watkins of Newsday:

Calvin Watkins @calvinwatkins
Asked how did a tainted supplement get in his system Jeremy Kerley said, "I don’t know, a lot of ghosts around here. Ghost put it in. You know the ghost of Christmas past."

Kerley spent the first five seasons of his career with the Jets before joining the San Francisco 49ers for the 2016 season. He registered a career-high 64 receptions to go along with 667 yards and three touchdowns in San Francisco.

Palepoi, 27, registered 24 tackles for the Los Angeles Chargers last season, earning a below-average grade of 60.0 from PFF. He spent the past four seasons with the team as a rotational defensive tackle.

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