Cornerback is on high-priority list for Bills after loss to Chiefs
The ideal solution would be for the Bills to get younger and more athletic at cornerback. And the expected hiring of new defensive assistant Ryan Nielsen from New England, who majors in man coverage, suggests a looming scheme adjustment.
Editor’s note: This is the third in a seven-part series looking at the Buffalo Bills roster heading into the 2025 NFL offseason.
To run it back or not?
It is the question facing the Buffalo Bills at the cornerback position.
The Bills got mostly capable play from their starting trio of cornerbacks – Taron Johnson, Christian Benford and Rasul Douglas – in the 2024 season.
It all fell apart in the AFC championship game loss to Kansas City, right after Benford went out with a concussion late in the first quarter. The Bills’ pass coverage was poor.
And there was room for improvement regardless of the final loss, given that the Bills ranked 29th in third-down defense. Both the coverage and pass rush weren’t quite good enough.
Cornerback Rasul Douglas will turn 31 in August, and his age likely works against him in a potential return to the Bills. Joshua Bessex, Buffalo News
Now, Douglas is set to be a free agent, and Benford is entering the final year of his rookie contract. There is no incumbent on the roster who looks ready to assume a starting role, given the disappointing play of Kaiir Elam, who also is entering the final year of his rookie contract. Thus, the Bills have an impending starter hole and can justify adding a player somewhere in the draft.
Douglas will turn 31 in August. He is a solid player who majors in zone coverage. He was playing on a contract worth $7 million a year. The sports financial website Spotrac pegs his market value at $11.9 million a year.
The ideal solution would be for the Bills to get younger and more athletic at cornerback. Furthermore, the expected hiring of new defensive assistant Ryan Nielsen from New England, who majors in man coverage, suggests a looming scheme adjustment.
The odds, then, likely lean against the return of Douglas. However, Beane must consider how many positions he realistically can upgrade in one offseason. Is retaining Douglas to a new deal relatively cheaper than his replacement cost (a first- or second-round draft pick or a not-so-cheap free agent)?
Benford likely has played his way into the Bills’ long-term plans, which means an extension approaching $20 million average, or maybe a bit more. The No. 10 corner in 2024 made $19 million a year. The pay scale keeps going up.
At safety, a passing of the torch seems obvious at the spot next to Taylor Rapp, who is under contract through 2026.
Bills safety Damar Hamlin tackles Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson on Jan. 19. Joshua Bessex, Buffalo News
Damar Hamlin started 17 games, counting playoffs, for the Bills in 2024. He is a free agent.
The Bills invested a second-round pick in Cole Bishop, and he brings top athletic traits to the position. He ran a speedy 4.45-second 40-yard dash and had a 39-inch vertical jump before the draft last year. The 40 time was third fastest among the safeties at the NFL combine last year, and the vertical jump was fifth best. Bishop got four starts as a rookie and played 32% of the defensive snaps. It’s hard to imagine the Bills making him wait in the wings again in 2025.
Hamlin enjoyed a respectable first full season as a starter. But he is a former sixth-round pick without elite traits. The market for starting safeties in free agency is soft, as even former Bills star Jordan Poyer found out when his contract came up in recent years. Hamlin brings superb intangibles and will find a job. But where?
Even if Douglas is not resigned, he will count $4.1 million against the Bills’ salary cap due to bonus money paid to him that was stretched out beyond 2024.
Under contract: Taron Johnson, Christian Benford, Taylor Rapp, Cole Bishop, Cam Lewis, Ja’Marcus Ingram, Kaiir Elam, Brandon Codrington, Daequan Hardy, Te’Cory Couch.
Pending free agents: Rasul Douglas, Damar Hamlin.
Key question: Do the Bills retain Douglas if his market in free agency is not red hot, and who starts opposite Benford in 2025? How much of a priority will the Bills put on finding better man-coverage cornerbacks? Will the Bills be willing to pay enough to sign Benford to an extension later in the summer?
Free agency and draft priority: High