By Tim Graham
The Jacksonville Jaguars already have beaten the Buffalo Bills once this week.
Four days before they play in Ralph Wilson Stadium, the Jaguars were awarded defensive end Jason Babin on waivers from the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Bills and Washington Redskins also put in claims for Babin, but the 2-9 Jaguars had priority, which is based on a team's record.
The 4-7 Bills would have gotten Babin ahead of the 5-6 Redskins.
Some might be surprised the Bills would be interested in adding another defensive end after spending so much money on free agents Mario Williams and Mark Anderson in the offseason and with the development of backup pass-rusher Kyle Moore.
But the Bills need to collect talent any way they can, and plucking Babin off waivers would have been a low-risk venture. Anderson has been sidelined by knee surgeries, and veteran defensive end Chris Kelsay is struggling with a neck injury.
Babin has been a Pro Bowler each of the past two seasons. He had 12.5 sacks in 2010, 18 sacks last year and 5.5 so far this year. Comments from his former Eagles teammates suggest he stopped giving an honest effort for the downward-spiraling team.
The Jaguars will need to pay only the final five weeks of Babin's base salary (or about $1.7 million). They also take on the remainder of his contract, which runs through 2015 with base salaries of $4.225 million, $6 million and $6 million.
