The Buffalo Bills were somehow able to keep their interest in Casey Toohill a secret until after he signed a contract with the team. On Tuesday, the Bills announced that they had signed the pass-rusher to a contract.
Toohill, 27, joins Buffalo following a four-year stint with the Washington Commanders. Here’s what you need to know about the Bills’ new pass-rusher
Coming off of a career-year
Casey Toohill entered free agency this year following his best season as a pro.
Toohill played a career-high 495 defensive snaps (45%) with Washington last season. During his time on the field, Toohill recorded five sacks and seven quarterback hits. Considering he had just two quarterback sacks before 2023, Toohill shattered his career-high in that area in 2023.
Toohill is also solid against the run as a rotational piece.
Saw an uptick in snaps after Chase Young trade
Toohill saw the field quite a bit down the stretch of the season. After the Commanders traded away Chase Young on November 1st, Toohill played 66 percent of the snaps or more over the next seven weeks. The edge rusher had four of his sacks come on limited reps pre-Young trade, but he gained valuable playing time late in the year
Originally drafted by Philadelphia Eagles
Toohill was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the seventh round of the 2020 NFL Draft (Pick 233). Toohill made the Eagles’ roster as a rookie, but was waived by the team in October that season.
The Commanders would go on to claim Toohill off waivers the next day. He remained in Washington until joining the Bills today.
Athleticism off the charts
Entering the draft, Toohill tested off the charts in athleticism. He scored highly in terms of his Relative Athletic Score and his athleticism grade among EDGE rushers was first among pass-rushers at the combine.
With pick 233 in the 2020 NFL Draft, the #Eagles selected Casey Toohill, LB, Stanford.
He posted an elite #RAS with elite size, great speed, elite explosiveness, good agility at the LB position.https://t.co/oCEwMzhasI#FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/EOjuSbQOCZ
— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) April 25, 2020
Casey Toohill might turn out to be a nice player for the Bills. He was rated first overall in “athleticism” among edge rushers at the 2020 NFL combine. #BillsMafia pic.twitter.com/EYw5qrN5Uf
— Sticks (@stickiesbills) March 19, 2024
Buffalo values athleticism which should give Toohill a chance to stick as part of the Bills’ rotation at defensive end.
