Bills sign defensive end Acho, release guard Duccasse

NFL-Acho-chases-hooper

In this file photo, Atlanta Falcons tight end Austin Hooper (81) runs past Chicago Bears linebacker Sam Acho. (Nam Y. Huh/AP)

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The Buffalo Bills have signed veteran defensive end Sam Acho and released guard Vlad Duccasse.

Acho has eight seasons of NFL experience and spent the past four with the Chicago Bears, where he had four sacks in 51 games. Acho was released by Chicago in March, and missed the final 12 games of last season because of a torn pectoral muscle.

Though Acho is listed as a linebacker, the Bills intend to use him as a defensive end based on their formation.

The 30-year-old spent his first four seasons with Arizona. Overall, he has 17 sacks and 10 forced fumbles, with 57 starts in 102 games.

Duccasse is a nine-year veteran who had one season left on the three-year contract he signed with Buffalo in 2017. He started 21 games in two seasons with the Bills, before becoming the odd-man out in what’s become an offseasonlong overhaul of what had been a patchwork offensive line.

The moves made Sunday come as Buffalo prepares to travel to South Carolina to hold joint practices with the Panthers before their preseason game at Carolina on Friday.

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