The human bowling ball is now rolling up to Buffalo. The Bills have announced the signing of running back/fullback Mike Tolbert to a one-year, $1MM deal.
The news is a bit surprising since the Bills stuck agreement with fellow fullback Patrick DiMarco just a couple of hours ago. It’s likely that DiMarco will be tasked more with a run blocking role and Tolbert will be used more as a traditional running back. Tolbert did amass roughly 1,600 all-purpose yards in his first four years with the Panthers before taking a backseat in the offense last year.
I had Tolbert ranked seventh amongst free agent fullbacks due to his age and diminished blocking skills. He’ll turn 32 in November. In 2016, he had 35 carries for 114 yards and just ten catches for 72 yards.
Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com first reported the agreeement. Joe Person of the Charlotte Observer had the details. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Interesting deal, but at that price, it really shouldn’t hurt.
If he could be signed for that price, why didn’t the Panthers try to resign him?