Three-year NFL veteran guard Ike Boettger signed his one-year tender offer with the Buffalo Bills. Boettger, a former undrafted free agent, spent the last three seasons with the Bills but has played for the Kansas City Chiefs.
Ike Boettger, Buffalo Bills, Agree to Contract
After spending the early portion of his career as a backup, Boettger finally had a chance to earn a starting job in 2020. While he began the year on the bench, he earned his first start in Week 7 against the New York Jets. The Iowa product went wire-to-wire, playing 100% of the snaps in Buffalo’s eventual 18-10 win. While he spent the next two weeks splitting snaps, Boettger eventually won the starting job for good and played every single snap in the last six games of the season, including the playoffs.
Boettger didn’t light the world on fire by any means, but he was a solid starter that managed to open holes in the running game and keep Josh Allen safe and upright. According to Pro Football Focus, Boettger finished the season as the NFL 36th-best guard out of 80 with a qualifying snap count.
NFL Career
Boettger initially began his NFL journey as an undrafted free agent. Following the 2018 NFL Draft, the Iowa product quickly signed with the Buffalo Bills and faced the unenviable task of earning a spot on the Week 1 roster. Unfortunately, he couldn’t survive final cuts and had to go onto waivers.
The Kansas City Chiefs actually put in a claim for Boettger’s services and added him to their active roster on September 2nd, 2018. However, Kansas City soon decided to go in another decision and parted ways with the interior offensive lineman just nine days after putting in the claim. Fortunately, he ended up back in Buffalo and spent the majority of the next two seasons as the primary interior backup.
With Cody Ford back from injury and Jon Feliciano also returning to Buffalo, Boettger will again be battling for a spot in the starting five. If he doesn’t make it, he will be a versatile backup for the Bills.
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