State of the Buffalo Bills Roster: Cornerback

The Buffalo Bills season is over, and tired eyes must now turn to the future. This roster will see turnover at positions they haven’t had to address for some time, and have security in places fans never thought they’d see. In this section of the series, we’ll break down the cornerback position. It’s not an area of immediate need for Buffalo, but we could see that change this off-season. Let’s get started.

Tre’Davious White

We’ll kick things off with our should-be cream of the crop. Unfortunately, Tre’Davious White enters the off-season with more questions than answers. His season ended far too soon with a torn Achilles in Week 4 against the Miami Dolphins, after he started the season looking like the Tre’Davious White we knew prior to his ACL tear in 2021. His second major injury in three years comes whilst he has a hefty current and future price tag; This Achilles injury now throws his future on this roster into doubt.

Buffalo may part ways with Tre this offseason which, whilst sad, would save $6M of his $16M cap hit, leaving $10M dead. With both the upcoming season and next to consider, it’s an option the team is certainly looking into. They have good depth at cornerback, and the chance to get out of his contract may outweigh his future impact on the field.

Rasul Douglas

Now, we get to go from the lowest lows of 2023 to highest highs. We move from the tragedy of Tre White to resounding success of Rasul Douglas. The Buffalo Bills sent their 2024 third-round pick to Green Bay for a 2024 fifth-rounder and Douglas. Traded for mid-season, he became a stud in this defense immediately. His impact on the field was incredible, as he delivered some incredible splash plays down the stretch. His four interceptions, one forced fumble, and two fumble recoveries were much needed.

Now, he enters 2024 in the final year of his contract, and may see an extension despite his age. Turning 30 this season, Rasul is evidently still perfectly capable of producing. He’s a veteran who can provide leadership to a secondary losing a great deal of exactly that this off-season. At the very least, his deal will be restructured to spread out his $9M cap hit, securing his spot on the roster this year.

Taron Johnson

Another season, another year of praising Taron Johnson for his impact on the field. Fewer absences would be more felt than his, and fewer players are able to play above their size better. Sean McDermott’s defense is effective in large part due to the things that Taron allows us to do. Not many teams may run a full-time nickel defense, but it allows Buffalo to combat the pass as good as anyone in the league.

The only downside to Taron at the moment is that we’ve only got one more year of him under contract. A prime target for an extension to balance the books, clear cap space (current cap hit of $12.4M) and secure this defense, Taron provides unique value as one of the NFL’s premier slot cornerbacks.

Christian Benford

Christian Benford is a lot of things, and a steal is most certainly one of them. Another unexpected success story, Benford was the Buffalo Bills’ second cornerback drafted in 2022. At that value, he took the 4th-most snaps of any player in Buffalo’s defense, and the most of any outside corner (824/76.87%). He’s been nothing short of excellent, and gives us great depth if he isn’t the starter in 2024.

With two years left on his rookie contract, he’ll be on this roster come September. Cheap, versatile, and consistent, there’s nothing to worry about with Benford.

Dane Jackson

Dane Jackson was barely supposed to see the field this season behind Tre White and Christian Benford. After White’s injury and before the acquisition of Douglas, Dane filled in and did well. He wasn’t an elite cornerback, but he did everything that could be asked of a depth player. When we suffered more injuries, he gave us good snaps again. The Bills had to lean on him far more than intended, and he was enough. No-one expects a starter, but we should be happy to see him return in the same capacity this offseason.

But Jackson is an unrestricted free agent (UFA) this offseason, and will test the market. If a good deal isn’t out there for him he’ll likely return to Buffalo on a one-year deal again, to provide depth and starting experience in a defense he’s familiar with.

Kaiir Elam

A figure of much controversy amongst Buffalo Bills fans, Kaiir Elam is an enigma at the moment. His season was nonexistent following an alleged ankle injury that landed him on the injured reserve after he was a healthy scratch for much of the season’s beginning. I say ‘alleged’, because it seemed the move was solely to remove him from the roster without losing him to the waiver wire. When Elam returned at the season’s end, when the Bills were in need of help at CB, he made a play.

Now, with two years left on his deal, and that fifth-year option in play for next offseason, Elam makes for interesting trade bait. There was reported interest at the trade deadline and, after his heroics against Pittsburgh, he may have drawn enough interest to make something happen. If not, he likely fits into this roster if Buffalo does move on from Tre White.

Siran Neal

Siran Neal was a non-factor for the Bills in 2023. He wasn’t bad, but he was hardly on the field outside of special teams, and his $3.4M cap hit is reduced to only $533K in the event of a cut. No mincing words, $3.4M is a lot of money to pay for 13 tackles. It’s the final year of his deal, and in an offseason of tough money, he may be out.

Cam Lewis

We could have listed Cam Lewis amongst the safeties, where he played often this season, but his work filling in for Taron Johnson as slot CB cannot go unnoticed. Another Dane Jackson-esque player, Lewis did much well this year. He played 43% of snaps against the Steelers after Taron’s latest concussion removed him from play.

Lewis is a UFA this offseason. He’s one of the Bills most valuable special teamers, and is inexpensive. In need of versatile, cheap depth that can play safety with the expected losses of starters on the back end, Lewis may be worth retaining, if available.

Josh Norman

A practice squad addition, the former shutdown corner Josh Norman joined the Buffalo Bills in a support role. Ultimately, he played only 5 defensive snaps on the year, but his presence was felt behind the scenes, in practice and on the sidelines. Following the playoff elimination by Kansas City, he sat on the bench with Jordan Poyer, and took it all in. No disrespect to Josh Norman whatsoever, but he shouldn’t be on this team as a player in 2024. He provides no on-field value, and his spot belongs to a younger player with a potential future.

Kyron Brown

Kyron Brown spent the season on the Bills’ practice squad. He was not activated for any games, but has signed his one-year future/reserve contract for 2024.

Ja’Marcus Ingram

Ingram was called up off the practice squad three times this season, playing a total of eight defensive snaps. His value is minimal right now, but he’s at least a camp body with a future on the practice squad in 2024. He has now signed his two-year future/reserve contract.

State of the Roster: Cornerbacks

Based on our review of the players at this position, Cornerback is a spot we don’t need to target this offseason. The Buffalo Bills could expect to lose a few players here, but still have a consistent vested veteran in Rasul Douglas, and young starter in Christian Benford. Depth at the position is good and, though they may want to keep the room deep long-term with a draft pick, it’s just not a priority for 2024.

Priority Order	Position Group
1	Wide Receivers
2	Defensive Line
3	Safeties
4	Offensive Line
5	Running Backs
6	Linebackers
7	Cornerbacks
8	Quarterbacks
9	Tight Ends

Featured Image Credit: The Associated Press