Alabama’s former punt return king will have another chance at a professional career. Safety Javier Arenas signed a reserve/future contract Wednesday with the Buffalo Bills.
The #Bills have signed CB @JavierArenas21 to a reserve/future contract.
— Buffalo Bills PR (@BuffaloBillsPR) February 3, 2016
Buffalo will serve as Arenas’ fifth NFL home, dating back to 2010 when he was taken in the second round (50th pick) by the Kansas City Chiefs in the NFL Draft. He signed with Arizona, Atlanta and the New York Jets since then, but was waived by all three franchises.
Reserve contracts are set for players who are not on NFL rosters. It gives them a chance to be added to a team once the rosters expand from 53 to 90 players on March 9, the start of the league’s 2016 campaign. Reserve/future players are able to participate in offseason events, including workouts, minicamps and OTAs.
Arenas was a standout defensive back and a stalwart on special teams at Alabama from 2006-09.
He recorded 159 total tackles, 17.5 tackles for loss, seven sacks, six interceptions and a defensive touchdown.
The Tampa, Florida native left Tuscaloosa with three school records on special teams–1,752 punt return yards, 2,166 kick return yards and a career average of 14 yards per punt return– he also broke Derek Abney’s Southeastern Conference record with his seventh punt return touchdown against University of Tennessee-Chattanooga in 2009.
Arenas led Alabama to a SEC championship and its first BCS national title under head coach Nick Saban in the 2009 season.
Stephen M. Smith is a senior analyst and columnist for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @ESPN_Future.
