The Buffalo Bills bolstered their cornerback depth with a familiar face by signing E.J. Gaines to a one-year contract, the team announced Monday.
Per the Houston Chronicle, the deal will pay Gaines $3.6 million for the 2019 season.
Gaines, 27, spent the 2017 season in Buffalo after being dealt that summer from the Los Angeles Rams in a trade involving wide receiver Sammy Watkins. Gaines was a full-time starter at cornerback, although he missed five games because of injury that season.
The four-year veteran signed with the Browns in March 2018, but only played six games (two starts) with one interception — eventually being placed on injured reserve after having a pair of concussions in a three-week span.
Gaines has been a starter for most of his NFL career (43 games, 38 starts, four interceptions), but health has been an issue. He has missed games in every year since being drafted in the sixth round of the 2014 draft by the Rams, and was forced to sit out the entire 2015 season because of a Lisfranc injury suffered during training camp that year.
The Bills are coming off a strong season by their defense, which finished second in the league in total defense (294.1 total yards allowed per game) and best in the NFL against the pass (179.2 pass ypg allowed).
Gaines joins new free-agent addition Kevin Johnson, formerly of the Houston Texans, in the secondary in a Buffalo offseason dominated by signings on offense — with the team adding four offensive linemen (center Mitch Morse, guard Spencer Long, tackles Ty Nsekhe and LaAdrian Waddle) and a quartet of skill position players (running back Frank Gore, plus wide receivers Cole Beasley, John Brown and Andre Roberts).
