Kawika Mitchell has spent the past two seasons with the Buffalo Bills. Will he be around for a

third?

With new head coach Chan Gailey on board, personnel changes are on the horizon. That has

Mitchell wondering if he'll be changing addresses.

"Every coach wants to get the guys they are comfortable with," said the veteran linebacker,

who is signed through 2012. "So I'm sure they will be bringing some new people in. I'm

prepared for whatever happens. I hope I'm back there. I hope they see me in their plans and

believe that I can work in their system and continue to be a leader on the field and off the

field. It will be interesting what they think."

Although Mitchell isn't sure of his future with the Bills, at present he's more concerned

about getting healthy.

Mitchell was sidelined for the season after tearing his right quadriceps muscle in a Week

Five loss to Cleveland. He's nearly four months into his post-surgery recovery and expects to

be ready to resume football-related activity sometime in May.

"Everything has been moving right on track, right on schedule," Mitchell said. "We're hoping

in a couple of months I'll be full go and should be 100 percent. With a muscle injury you sort

of have to take it day by day. When you pull a hamstring you can't really run on it until it's

ready or it might pull worse. It's sort of the same thing. You have to let it heal up and get

to where it's just right. But it's starting to feel stronger than the other leg actually."

Missing most of the season was hard on Mitchell, who played every game over the previous

four years and had missed only four games combined in his first six seasons.

His absence might have been harder on the Bills, who were riddled with injuries at

linebacker and a lot of other positions. Mitchell was one of an NFL-high 20 Bills placed on

injured reserve in 2009.

"That was unbelievable," he said. "I've never seen that in three years on one team. You look

at most teams, usually four to six guys are on IR. It was tough."

Once back to full strength, Mitchell expects to return to his form of 2008, when he had 91

tackles, two interceptions and tied for the team lead with four sacks. Gailey would love to

have that kind of production on his roster.

Mitchell has heard good things about Gailey, who is bringing in a different philosophy on

offense and defense.

The biggest move Gailey will make is moving to a 3-4 defense. The Bills will definitely have

new faces on that side of the ball because a lot of their current personnel was acquired

because of their fit in the 4-3 alignment.

The Bills need a nose tackle, will have to see which defensive linemen can play end in a 3-4

scheme, and they must get bigger at linebacker.

Despite all the necessary defensive changes, Mitchell thinks moving to the 3-4 is the

right thing to do.

"I think it's going to be productive," he said. "I think our defense has already been good.

We've been on the field too long, but going to the 3-4 we should be able to create some

different looks and cause some havoc on some offenses."

Mitchell would certainly be at home in the 3-4. Unlike most of the team's linebackers, the

6-foot-1, 253-pounder has the necessary size to play the scheme.

Gailey said he is thinking about starting Mitchell next to Paul Posluszny at inside

linebacker. He has been the Bills' best blitzing linebacker, especially when coming up the

middle.

"I think I'm a good pass rusher from the interior of the line," he said. "I can do it from

the outside, but my timing from the inside is more valuable."

Mitchell was among the players partial to former coach Dick Jauron, but he's optimistic

about Gailey. Mitchell has gotten a favorable review from a friend who played for Gailey at

Georgia Tech.

Whether Gailey can change the Bills' fortunes remains to be seen. While the team has some

talent, there are plenty of holes to fill.

For one, the Bills have to make a decision at quarterback. Mitchell believes Trent Edwards

can be a capable starter, but added that it wouldn't hurt to bring in more competition.

Beyond quarterback, Mitchell said the key to the Bills' chances of competing in the AFC

East will depend what the team does to improve play in the trenches.

"I think we have to solidify our offensive line," he said. "Without that, we can't run the

ball and the quarterback can't throw the ball. We've got a lot of specialists. We've got a lot

of depth in the secondary. The most important part is the offensive and defensive line. If we

don't have that, we don't have a chance. I think that goes for everything."

. . .

The Bills on Tuesday announced the signing of free agent defensive tackle Marlon Favorite.

The 6-foot-1, 317-pounder spent the 2009 season on the practice squads of St. Louis, Kansas

City, Seattle and New Orleans. He was a member of LSU's 2007 national championship team.