Bills sign safety Kurt Coleman after Rafael Bush retires

falcons-matt-ryan-tackled-by-saints-kurt-coleman

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan (2) is pushed by New Orleans Saints defensive back Kurt Coleman (29) during the first half, Sunday, Sept. 23, 2018, in Atlanta. (David Goldman/AP)

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The Buffalo Bills have signed safety Kurt Coleman to replace Rafael Bush after Bush unexpectedly announced his retirement less than a week before the start of training camp.

The Bills announced the moves Friday in placing Bush on the reserve/retired list. Bush had seven starts in 15 games during his one and only season with Buffalo last year. He had one year left on the two-year contract he signed with Buffalo in March 2018. The 32-year-old Bush spent five seasons in New Orleans and had 25 starts in 91 career games.

Coleman has nine seasons of NFL experience and had nine starts in 16 games with New Orleans last year. He also spent three seasons with Carolina, where his tenure overlapped with Bills coach Sean McDermott, who served as Panthers defensive co-ordinator.

Overall, the 31-year-old Coleman has 21 interceptions and 83 starts in 132 career games. He played his first four seasons in Philadelphia and one year in Kansas City.

Buffalo opens training camp in suburban Rochester, New York, on Thursday.

[relatedlinks]

When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.