ORCHARD PARK - The Buffalo Bills made it official Wednesday morning: They are tapping into their past as they try to plug two holes on their injury-depleted defensive line, signing Jordan Phillips and Quinton Jefferson, both of whom were cut on Tuesday.

The Bills have lost Dawuane Smoot and DeWayne Carter to wrist injuries in the last two weeks and both players need surgery and are now on injured reserve.

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What to know about Quinton Jefferson

Jefferson, who played for the Bills in 2020, was with the Browns this season where he played in five games but was inactive for four. On his 140 snaps, some on the edge and some on the interior, he made six tackles and one sack and his Pro Football Focus grades were not good against either the run or pass.

The 31-year-old in his ninth season began his career with four years in Seattle, then came to Buffalo and in his one season he was on the field for 533 snaps and he had 15 tackles, three sacks and 27 pressures. He then bounced to the Raiders, back to the Seahawks, to the Jets and then to the Browns. Jefferson has 62 career starts in 108 games, and like Smoot, he will probably line up on the edge, but then perhaps kick inside in passing situations.

“Remember him from 2020,” coach Sean McDermott said. “Been keeping our eyes on him as he’s been going through his journey over the last couple of seasons. Not as much tape this year, a little bit more tape last year. Had some production last year (with the Jets) so I saw him up close last year. Just taking it one day at a time and just trying to put our best players on the field and put the players in position to succeed, whoever’s out there.”

What to know about Jordan Phillips

Phillips is back for a third stint with the Bills, and it really seems a little perplexing why the Bills have chosen to give him the opportunity.

Last season, he was without question one of the least productive players on the Buffalo defense. Per PFF, of the 38 players they graded, he was the second-lowest, ahead of only linebacker AJ Klein.

He signed with the Giants in the offseason, then was traded in August to the Cowboys where he wound up playing in just two games, during which he was Dallas’ lowest-graded player among 30 on defense.

The 32-year-old brings girth at 330 pounds, and a knowledge of the Bills’ defense, but it’s hard to imagine that he would be a better game-day option than Eli Ankou who has played pretty well in the two games where he was elevated from the practice squad.

It certainly seemed like the prudent move would have been to activate Ankou to the 53-man roster and if the Bills still felt they needed Phillips in the building, sign him to the practice squad.

“Each situation is different, number one,” McDermott said. “Two is I think Eli has done some good things. Valid point. Jordan Phillips was released from his other team, as was Q, so who knows where that will go, right? They haven’t played a lot, either of them, with their old clubs. So we’ve got to see if they’re in shape and fit to play and just take it one step at a time.”

Sal Maiorana has covered the Buffalo Bills for four decades including 35 years as the full-time beat writer for the D&C, and he has written numerous books about the history of the team. He can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com, and you can follow him on Twitter @salmaiorana. https://profile.democratandchronicle.com/newsletters/bills-blast

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Jordan Phillips, Quinton Jefferson sign with Bills to fill out roster