Bills General Manager Buddy Nix has made enough good moves in the last three years that he fears no one in the AFC, but Thursday brought a reminder that not every move he’s made has worked out for the best.
Nix drafted defensive tackle Torell Troup with the 41st pick of the 2010 draft -- one pick before the Patriots selected Rob Gronkowski -- and has watched him play just 21 largely ineffectual games over his first two seasons in the league. Troup’s going to be stuck on 21 for at least one more season, too.
The Bills placed Troup on injured reserve Thursday, ending his 2012 season before it ever started. Troup had spinal fusion surgery in December and he hasn’t been able to practice with the team during training camp. The Bills talked about Troup contributing on the defensive line as recently as early this week, but they obviously decided that wasn’t going to come to pass. Dwan Edwards and Spencer Johnson now appear to be set as the backups to Marcell Dareus and Kyle Williams at tackle.
With Troup headed to injured reserve, the Bills don’t have much to show from Nix’s first draft running the show. They’ve cut three players from that draft, Troup is done for the year and three other draftees -- defensive tackle Alex Carrington, wide receiver Marcus Easley and linebacker Danny Batten -- are on the roster bubble. Running back C.J. Spiller and linebacker Arthur Moats are the only members of the draft class with definite roles on the team in their third seasons.