Rex Ryan says he vouched for IK Enemkpali before Bills signed him

When Buffalo Bills coach Rex Ryan saw linebackerIK Enemkpali's name on the waiver wire, he jumped at the chance to acquire him.

First, Ryan had to vouch for him to ownership and to general manager Doug Whaley before they signed off on adding Enemkpali, the former New York Jets player who broke the jaw of quarterback Geno Smith in a locker room fight. Then Ryan had to see if it would cause a problem in the Bills' locker room.

Ryan considered it a no-risk acquisition.

"That's not a worry," Ryan said of any potential problems in the locker room. "I think this is an isolated thing. I think I have a great locker room here, so I don't think anything like that would happen. I'm sure the Jets feel the same. Hey, it's not perfect. Something happened. I think it's an isolated incident. It's not a major concern for me. I feel pretty good about our locker room."

Ryan's push to bring in Enemkpali further ties his current situation in Buffalo with his past in New York, something he spoke about with HBO's "Real Sports".

In an interview that aired Tuesday night, Ryan said he wished the Jets would have invested more in last year's team, which finished 4-12.

"You're in New York City, you better spend to the cap," Ryan told HBO. "That's what you should spend. Compete for it. Not be $50 million under."

"It's tough, because the thing is, we're selling that we got to give everything," Ryan explained to ESPN. "We have, and the players did. The players did [give everything], and that's why it wasn't fair, and that's what upset me. That's what got me. The same commitment that you ask yourself and you ask your player and everybody didn't seem like it filtered throughout the organization."

With the green light to sign Enemkpali, perhaps Ryan has that now with AFC East rival Buffalo.

Ryan believes Enemkpali could push for a backup defensive end job in the Bills' 4-3, behind Jerry Hughes.

"The young guy has a chance to be a decent pass-rusher and a good football player," Ryan told ESPN. "He can play teams. He's a powerful rusher. He has such a great motor. Obviously, he is not going to start with that group, but I could see him really pushing for a backup job to Jerry Hughes."