Orchard Park, NY - The Bills today announced that the team has signed linebacker Kellen Brantley, tight end/long snapper Mike Gomez, defensive back Jonathon Palafox, kicker Owen Pochman, quarterback Kevin Thompson, and wide receiver LaDaris Vann.
All six players have been allocated to participate in NFL Europe. The results of the league's allocation draft will be announced on February 14 and NFL Europe training camps start on March 2.
LB Kellen Brantley (Wake Forest) - Comes to Buffalo after spending the '04 training camp with the Tennessee Titans before being released prior to the season. A four-year letter winner from Wake Forest, Brantley played in 47 games and registered 40 consecutive starts at outside linebacker for the Demon Deacons. He finished his collegiate career with 254 tackles, eight sacks, and five interceptions.
TE/LS Mike Gomez (Illinois) - Signed by Jacksonville as an undrafted rookie free agent in 2004, Gomez was released prior to the start of last season. Gomez played two seasons of junior college ball at College of the Canyons in Santa Calrita, CA before taking over long snapping duties for Illinois in 2002 and 2003.
DB Jonathon Palafox (Angelo St.) - A former standout at Angelo State, Palafox was signed by the Bills last spring but was released by the team prior to training camp. He finished his collegiate career with 274 tackles and 10 interceptions, ranking among Angelo State's all-time leaders in both categories.
K Owen Pochman (Brigham Young) - A veteran kicker with two years of NFL experience, Pochman was a member of the 2001 NY Giants where he served mainly as a kickoff specialist and spent a portion of the 2003 season as the 49ers kicker, connecting on 8 of his 15 field goal attempts before being released by the team on 10/29/03.
QB Kevin Thompson (Penn State) - A 6-5, 236-pound quarterback from Penn State, Thompson entered the NFL in 2000 as an undrafted rookie free agent with the Browns and saw action in one game in '00, completing the only pass attempt of his career. Since then, he has spent time with the Bengals, Vikings and Giants. He was most recently released by the Giants on 6/1/04.
WR LaDaris Vann (Cincinnati) - Vann re-wrote the University of Cincinnati's record books, leaving as the school's all-time leader in receptions with 204 and receiving yards with 2,583. He also holds the record for consecutive games with a reception with 46. After his collegiate career, Van spent time with the Winnipeg Bluebombers of the CFL in 2003 and the Indiana Firebirds of the Arena League in 2004.
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