Free-agent linebacker Christian Kirksey, cut by the Cleveland Browns earlier this week, continued his NFL road trip on Friday by visiting the Buffalo Bills, according to multiple media reports.
Kirksey, 27, visited the Green Bay Packers on Wednesday and the Las Vegas Raiders on Thursday. He was released by the Browns on Tuesday.
A third-round pick of the Browns in the 2014 NFL Draft, the 27-year-old Kirksey appeared in 73 games (54 starts) and registered 484 tackles, 11.5 sacks, two interceptions and four forced fumbles in six seasons with the team.
Listed at 6-foot-2, 235 pounds, Kirksey did not miss a game during his first four seasons, but a hamstring injury limited him to seven games in 2018 and a chest injury ended his season after Week 2 in 2019.
He signed a four-year, $38 million extension in May 2017 and was due to earn $9.95 million in 2020. His release saves Cleveland $7.55 million in cap space.
He won Browns’ Walter Payton Man of the Year award in 2018, and was popular among his teammates.
After his release, former Browns offensive lineman Joe Thomas, who retired after 11 seasons, addressed Kirksey in a post on Twitter: “You will go down in history as one of the great Cleveland Browns of all time, not only for what you did on the field, but the lives that you impacted in the community, in the locker room and in and around the offices of the Cleveland Browns.”
