The Buffalo Bills signed inside linebacker Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles to a one-year deal Wednesday afternoon, the team announced, adding a veteran body to the linebacker room while opening a roster spot by releasing wide receiver Max Tomczak.
Flannigan-Fowles joined Buffalo in the middle of OTAs and will wear No. 50. He last played for the New York Giants during the 2025 season, appearing in 10 games and making three starts.
Before his 2025 stint in New York, Flannigan-Fowles spent the first five years of his NFL career with the San Francisco 49ers. He played in 73 games for San Francisco and made seven starts, registering 96 tackles, six tackles for loss, one interception and one sack.
An undrafted free agent out of the 2019 NFL Draft, Flannigan-Fowles played collegiately at Arizona from 2015 to 2018. His resume is a patchwork of special-teams snaps and spot starts, the kind of profile teams often seek when they need immediate depth late in the spring.
The signing is a clear bid to bolster the Bills' inside linebacker depth. Buffalo had to clear a roster slot to make the addition, and the team chose to part with Tomczak, a wide receiver, to create space — a small but explicit signal about how the club prioritized its needs during OTAs.
There is friction in the timing. Flannigan-Fowles arrived mid-OTAs rather than with the rest of the group, which shortens his window to learn the playbook and build chemistry before training camp. That compressed timetable will determine whether he is a situational depth piece or something more than a short-term roster patch.
For Flannigan-Fowles, the move is straightforward: a one-year chance to land on a roster that believes it needs more linebacker options. He brings NFL experience across 2019–2025 and will enter Buffalo having to pick up the defense quickly and earn a role after joining the team late in the spring.
