The Bills’ reported signing of Derek Anderson is now official, per a team announcement. To make room for Anderson on the active roster, the Bills released safety Dean Marlowe. 
“First and foremost, he’s a team first guy,” said Bills head coach Sean McDermott. “A guy that has been around, whether as a starter or a backup. A lot of football over the years. He’s got a good outlook on the game from an offensive standpoint. He understands defenses. So there’s just a lot of value to it in terms of where we are right now in that quarterback room…I think highly of Derek having been around him in Carolina and how he not only played, but also was a primary backup and helped Cam (Newton) in his learning curve. I was on the defensive side so I wasn’t in the room there, but he’s a good quarterback who has played and also backed up so he’s got some good wisdom stored up in that brain.”
Anderson has 76 career NFL appearances under his belt, though he has not seen consistent action since his 2010 campaign with the Cardinals. He went just 2-7 that year, but he did lead the 2007 Browns to a 10-5 record in 15 starts en route to his only Pro Bowl nod.
By sacrificing Marlowe, the Bills will keep three quarterbacks on the roster in Josh Allen, 2017 fifth-round pick Nathan Peterman, and Anderson. The downside is that the Bills are left with only four true safeties on the roster, but they’re apparently confident in their group despite Micah Hyde‘s nagging groin issue and Rafael Bush‘s recent shoulder injury.
The Bills have been rolling with two quarterbacks since trading A.J. McCarron before the season, and that has left them without a veteran in the QB room. It’s possible that Anderson will never see the field in Buffalo, but McDermott is hopeful that he can impart some wisdom on his rookie starter.