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It took most of this week, but in the end Buffalo was successful in re-signing cornerback Drayton Florence, who signed his contract shortly after free agents were eligible to sign deals Friday at 6 pm.

“We needed Drayton back,” said Bills GM Buddy Nix. “We’re actually pretty deep back there now with experience. He gives us that veteran leadership. We’re happy to have him back.”

With Florence back in the fold, Buffalo has their top four cornerbacks returning from last season including a fully healthy Terrence McGee, who appears to have put a troublesome two years of injuries behind him. It gives head coach Chan Gailey some comfort knowing the passing league the NFL has become.

“In this league, you better have three quality corners,” said Gailey. “With the addition of him, it gives us three quality corners that can go out and play on a weekly basis. If Aaron (Williams) comes in and does what we think he can do, it gives us more depth. We have a chance to be very solid at that position.”

Florence will not be eligible to participate in practice until the first day of the league year, which right now is Aug. 4^th. It could be sooner if the league’s players ratify the new Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Having started all 16 games last season at right cornerback last season, it’s not expected to take very long for Florence to get back in sync with his teammates.

Chandler, Sanborn sign tenders
The Bills also announced that TE Scott Chandler and LS Garrison Sanborn both signed their tender offers. Chandler was tendered a qualifying offer by the Bills as a restricted free agent prior to the NFL lockout. Sanborn was also tendered as an exclusive rights free agent.

The two players fall under the same non-practice rules as Florence so they too will be unable to practice or participate in any physical activity until Aug. 4^th.

Bills add undrafted DE
Buffalo also made it an even 20 rookie free agents on their roster Friday signing DE Jordan Topp. The 6’3” 277-pound prospect played defensive tackle for Louisiana-Lafayette, but will likely line up at defensive end in Buffalo’s 3-4 scheme.

Topp appeared in 21 games in his college career with 42 tackles including 4.5 for loss, a forced fumble, a blocked kick, a half sack and two quarterback pressures.