Bills to meet with Ziggy Ansah after signing 7 free agents

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — The free-spending Buffalo Bills aren’t yet done attempting to upgrade their young roster with veteran free agents, turning their attention to defensive end Ezekiel “Ziggy” Ansah.

After officially announcing they’ve agreed to sign seven players Wednesday, the Bills are scheduled to meet with Ansah at their facility on Thursday.

Buffalo is the first team Ansah is scheduled to visit since the NFL’s signing period opened.

Ansah established himself as an effective pass rusher during his first six NFL seasons with Detroit, where he had 48 sacks in 80 games. His production dwindled last season when injuries led to him playing seven games before being placed on the season-ending injured-reserve list because of a shoulder problem in December.

It was a disappointing finish to Ansah’s season after the Lions prevented him from becoming a free agent by designating him their franchise player a year ago.

From Ghana, he’s listed at 6-foot-5 and 275 pounds, and was selected by Detroit with the fifth overall pick in 2013 draft.

Ansah’s visit comes after the Bills announced they reached agreements to sign seven players, including receivers John Brown and Cole Beasley ,

Buffalo also agreed to sign veteran running back Frank Gore, tight end Tyler Kroft, and offensive linemen Mitch Morse, Ty Nsekhe and Jon Feliciano.

The Bills are coming off a 6-10 finish and had more than $70 million available to spend under the salary cap entering free agency. Buffalo used a portion of that money to address key needs in reshaping a patchwork offensive line and adding experience to what had been an unproven group of receivers.

Morse, who signed a four-year contract after spending his first four seasons with Kansas City, is being counted on to start at center, a position that was unsettled last year after Eric Wood was diagnosed with a career-ending neck injury.

Brown is a speedy downfield threat, and Beasley is a proven underneath slot receiver. They join a team whose two top returning receivers were Zay Jones, entering his third year, and Robert Foster, an undrafted rookie last season.

Gore is the NFL’s active leader in yards rushing and prepares to play his 15th season after spending last year with Miami. The 35-year-old will join 30-year-old LeSean McCoy in forming what would be the NFL’s oldest — and most historically productive — running back tandem.

Gore’s 14,748 yards rushing rank fourth on the NFL’s career list, while McCoy is 25th with 10,606 yards rushing.