Rex Ryan wants the Buffalo Bills to "build a bully." Team owner Terry Pegula wants his team "to be a nightmare to play against." Hello, Richie Incognito.
Following initial reports the Bills were flirting with the talented but troubled guard, The Buffalo News on Saturday said signing Incognito was all but a done deal. Jeff Darlington of NFL.com took out the qualifier, based on a source. All that remains for the confirmation and details.
Incognito is as talented as any interior offensive lineman in football. But he is as much a danger to himself as he is to opponents, and he is a pariah following events that led to his departure from the Miami Dolphins.
So of course Ryan wants him. Reports said Incognito's physical on Saturday was a formality.
Syracuse.com provides five things to know about why the Bills grabbed Incognito. First on the list: the baggage he brings, and we're not talking Samsonite. In a 2012 Sporting News poll of NFL players, Incognito was second only to Ndamukong Suh as the league's dirtiest player. Incognito revels in the description and calls himself an "ass-kicking machine."
In terms of sheer performance, Incognito could provide a significant upgrade. At 31, he will be an improvement over either Bills starter from last season, Kraig Urbik or Erik Pears, or rookie Cyril Richardson, who started four games. The team's run blocking was rotten, it's pass blocking not much better.
The Bills' line scenario: Pears and Urbik likely are goners. Richardson and fellow 2014 pick Cyrus Kouandjio will have time to develop. Chris Williams, returning from injury, remains in the picture but must prove worthy of the first-round pick and fat contract he received before last season.
The Bills know what to expect, one hopes, after employing Incognito for three games in 2009. They certainly know Incognito's checkered history, dating back to his college days at Nebraska.
Incognito in name only, this guy is a peck of trouble for any coach. A first-round talent, he didn't get drafted until the fifth round in 2005. He started three seasons for the St. Louis Rams before his shenanigans — he was the poster boy for unnecessary roughness penalties — led the team to cut him.
A Pro Bowl player in 2012, Incognito was a line leader for the Dolphins. Then came the capper, with Incognito the focal point and ringleader in bullying Jonathan Martin, a young, impressionable tackle who played next to him until the proverbial excrement hit the fan.
Incognito was suspended midway through the 2013 season for his role in the Martin mess. When his suspension was lifted, teams avoided Incognito like the plague. He spent 2014 without a contract.
Now Ryan gets to put Peck's bad boy to work. Woe be to the Bills' opponents … many of whom might feel the same way about the Bills.