Last week Mario Williams was sold on signing with the Bills in part by players already on Buffalo's roster. That process repeated itself Wednesday with the signing of free agent DE Mark Anderson. Ironically, it was Buffalo's other free agent signee that led the recruiting effort.
"He played a big part," said Anderson of Williams recruiting role. "I knew Mario from Houston and knew what type of guy he was. He played a big part. The whole defensive line played a big part. The whole coaching staff, the team, I saw how hard this team worked last year. They started off good, but had a few injuries along the way, but now it seems like everyone is back and ready to go. I'm just happy to be a part of this organization."
Despite visiting with three other NFL clubs prior to arriving in Buffalo, Anderson chose to sign with the Bills just 18 hours after arriving in town. Anderson spent Tuesday evening the members of Chan Gailey's defensive staff, Anderson toured One Bills Drive, met GM Buddy Nix and then had lunch with veteran linebacker Nick Barnett.
"I met Nick (Barnett) a few years ago and knew he was a good guy," said Anderson. "Marcell Dareus went to the same school as me at Alabama. They do some heavy recruiting over here and it's a great group of guys you want to be around."
Kyle Williams was also a fifth-round pick in the 2006 NFL draft just like Anderson, who went 25 picks later.
"We were in school at the same time," said Williams. "I remember playing him at Alabama when he was in school. We actually played at the Senior Bowl together. He's a good pass rusher, tenacious guy that's going to get after the quarterback. You can never have too many guys that can make plays, not just tackles here and there, but guys that can get after the quarterback and create some things. You put him in our room with all the guys we have now, he's going to do good."
After lunch with Barnett on the way back to One Bills Drive, the free agent defensive end got one more text from Mario Williams.
"He texted me and told me, 'Let's go. Let's get it going,'" Anderson told Buffalobills.com.
An hour later Anderson signed with Buffalo.
"I just like the blue collar atmosphere here," said Anderson. "I'm all about hard work and getting better. I think Buffalo represents that and that's something I want to be a part of and that's why I made the decision I did. Everybody is hungry and we're going to try to bring a different flavor to Buffalo to get things to the next level."
