Richie Incognito, Bills agree
The Buffalo Bills have agreed to a deal in principle with free-agent guard Richie Incognito, the team announced Saturday.
The deal will be for one year and $2.25 million, a source told ESPN.com.
Incognito, who last played for the Miami Dolphins in 2013, visited the Bills and took a physical with the team earlier Saturday, a source told ESPN.
The Bills were in need of an upgrade at guard, where starters Erik Pears and Kraig Urbik both struggled last season. Pears will become a free agent in March, while Urbik is under contract through 2016.
Guard Chris Williams, who signed a four-year, $13.5 million deal last offseason but missed 13 games with a lower back injury, told ESPN in December that he expects to be healthy enough to play at the beginning of next season.
Incognito, 31, is most infamous for the high-profile bullying scandal involving former Dolphins teammate Jonathan Martin. An NFL investigation revealed Incognito and two other Miami offensive linemen -- John Jerry and Mike Pouncey -- harassed Martin, who was later traded to the San Francisco 49ers.
Incognito was suspended for his final eight games with the Dolphins in 2013.
The NFL cleared Incognito last summer to resume all football-related activities. He had visits with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in August and Denver Broncos in November but remained out of football for the 2014 season.
Incognito has nine seasons of NFL experience and briefly played for the Bills in 2009.
He had established a reputation for having a mean streak even before the bullying scandal. Bills defensive tackle Marcell Dareus once called Incognito "the dirtiest player in the NFL," following a game against Buffalo's AFC East rival Dolphins.
Incognito was selected by St. Louis in the third round of the 2005 draft. He failed to sign a contract with the Rams until Week 3 of his rookie season and then missed the rest of the year after being placed on the team's non-football injury list.
He spent the next three-plus seasons in St. Louis before wearing out his welcome. The Rams placed him on waivers and he was claimed by Buffalo. He played three games with the Bills but was not re-signed. Overall, he has appeared in 102 games.
In his introductory news conference last month, Bills coach Rex Ryan said he would"build a bully"that opposing teams won't want to face.
The Bills were the first team to host Incognito this offseason.
ESPN.com Dolphins reporter James Walker and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
