The Buffalo Bills announced that offensive star has signed his rookie NFL contract. He is the first member of the team’s 2024 NFL Draft class to sign a contract, joining a group of 12 other undrafted free agents who signed rookie deals on Thursday.
Clayton came at One Bills Drive through the International Player Pathway (IPP) program. He joins the NFL as one of 16 IPP players, having moved to the United States after playing rugby as an inside center for Basingstoke in London 3 South West.
The IPP is the NFL’s current international program, which aims to assist the sport of American football flourish on a global scale by giving individuals the opportunity to play professional football for the NFL.
The Bills selected Clayton in the seventh round of this year’s draft, with the final pick that weekend, number 221 overall. While Clayton, who is 6’7″ and weighs 301 pounds with 35″ arms, is a raw developmental prospect, he has a lot of potential.
Inside center in rugby most closely resembles the job of a classic fullback or goal line back in tackle football. Clayton isn’t expected to play fullback, but it’s easy to imagine how offensive coordinator Joe Brady might introduce him to the NFL. Clayton’s 40-yard sprint time of 4.79 seconds is faster than J.J. Watt’s at the NFL Scouting Combine.
England ➡️ Buffalo.
Travis Clayton is officially a Bill: https://t.co/xbfgPXLsvZ pic.twitter.com/UWFZdNGdFz
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) May 9, 2024
Travis Clayton spent ten weeks in Florida as part of the IPP program prepping for his NFL debut. Aside from rugby and his current sport, American football, Clayton is a real multi-sport Renaissance man, having competed in boxing and tennis, as well as soccer, rowing, and skeleton.
This isn’t the front office’s first time using the IPP to develop international talents, as it did with former Bills running back Christian Wade. Wade was on a practice squad as the 11th man, which was an extra space on 10-man PS rosters at the time, and thus was exempt from participating because he did not make the 53-man roster. He was a preseason favorite, but he never appeared in a regular-season game for the Bills.
Clayton, like Wade, can be added to the Bills’ practice squad as an extra player (currently the 17th member on a 16-man PS roster). One significant distinction is that he can now be called up to the active roster three times during the season. So, even if he does not make the team’s 53-man roster, Clayton has the potential to play in NFL games as early as this season with the Buffalo Bills.
Clayton’s capacity to do so will, of course, be determined by his readiness, talent, and other factors. The Bills are depending on Travis Clayton’s ability to do just that and more.
Leave a Reply