The Bills signed defensive tackle Cedric Thornton and re-signed safety Colt Anderson on Tuesday. They released defensive tackle Deandre Coleman and placed quarterback T.J. Yates on injured reserve in corresponding moves.
The Cowboys released Thornton on Sunday after claiming Brian Price off waivers. During the 2016 offseason, Dallas signed Thornton to a four-year, $18 million deal, with $9 million guaranteed. But he proved a bad fit in the Cowboys’ system.
Thornton, who played his first four seasons in Philadelphia, made only 22 tackles and 1.5 sacks last season in starting no games and playing in 13. A hamstring injury kept him out of much of the Cowboys’ 2017 training camp.
The Cowboys will offset Thornton’s $3 million guarantee for this season with whatever his new contract pays him, according to Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones.
"[Thornton’s] got a lot of skins on the wall in the NFL,” Jones said Monday on DFW’s 105.3 The Fan. “If he plays, which I’m sure he will, because I do think he’s an NFL football player, then we’ll get offset.”
The Bills also re-signed Anderson after releasing him on Monday to make room for quarterback Joe Webb.