Bills training camp 2025 safety preview: Will Cole Bishop step into a leadership role?
The Bills had a longtime outstanding duo at safety but had to move on last season.
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After years of the same starting duo and having one of the best pairings in the entire NFL, the Bills entered the 2024 season with two brand-new starters at safety. Now the Bills are fully invested in the next chapter at the position, hoping they find another pair of long-term starters like Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer.
Along with the change in starting personnel, 2024 also provided the first time safety became somewhat of a weakness for the Bills. It got better as the year went along, but there is much room for improvement in the 2025 season.
With a potential starting switch-up and one more year in the scheme, how are things lining up at safety as the Bills prepare for their time at St. John Fisher University? Here is a detailed outlook for when the Bills return for training camp in late July.
2025 Bills projected S depth chart
What’s changed?
The top three safeties remain the same as they were in 2024, but it’s trending toward a different priority list. Taylor Rapp and Cole Bishop remained under contract, but after Damar Hamlin’s free agency market fell a bit flat, the Bills were able to bring him back on a cost-effective one-year, $2 million deal. The team rounded out the room with some better options than they had by the end of 2024, signing veteran free agent Darrick Forrest to a one-year deal and then drafting Jordan Hancock in the fifth round.
Biggest question
Can Cole Bishop take the step forward the Bills are hoping for?
Throughout the offseason leading up to the draft, safety continued to be one of the more misunderstood positions from a national perspective. Each day brought a new mock draft that had the Bills taking a safety early, but the logic never made sense. The team had been talking about Rapp stepping into a leadership role all offseason, and his play improved as the season went on last year. Bishop took a step forward at the end of last season when given some playing time, and his status as a second-round pick made him an easy bet to start in 2025. After all, Bishop is the most significant draft investment the Bills have ever made at safety under general manager Brandon Beane — and by a lot. Unless something goes haywire, either with an injury or regression, the expectation is for Bishop to join Rapp in the starting lineup.
However, the question doesn’t center around the role itself but on how Bishop performs this season. Despite being sidelined during team drills with a minor groin injury at minicamp, you could sense how much more comfortable Bishop was this year than he was a year ago. He was a constant communicator ahead of the snap with his defensive teammates, and when he was fully practicing during OTAs, Bishop didn’t shy away from using his instincts and playing hunches while in coverage. That’s exactly the type of progress you’d want to see from a second-year player in the first few spring practices. But that’s just a starting point for Bishop.
The one thing the Bills were severely lacking at safety in 2024 was someone who could be a playmaker for them. Hamlin was a great story last year and took advantage of an opportunity to start, but his hesitance in coverage limited their potential to make plays on the back end. That is what they hope they get from Bishop, given his skill set and what they saw from him at the end of the season. When head coach Sean McDermott said this spring that they are going to need contributions out of their young players this season on defense, Bishop is one of the most important ones to solidify the backend of their defense.
There will likely be some bumps along the way, which is the case for any young player going through their first full season of starting. However, with him in the lineup, the Bills have a much higher potential ceiling at the position than they did in 2024. If he can inch towards his potential and raise the overall effectiveness of the safety group in the process, it will be a significant development for the Bills’ championship hopes in 2025.
Bubble watch
Darrick Forrest
When the Bills signed Forrest as a free agent in March, it certainly gave the team some options as they went into the 2025 NFL Draft. With the quartet of Rapp, Bishop, Hamlin and Forrest under contract, the Bills didn’t need to take one if the value wasn’t there. However, Forrest’s one-year deal wasn’t prohibitive enough, with only $167,500 in dead cap to cut him, to ignore safety in the draft altogether. The Bills eventually did take a potential safety prospect in Hancock, which puts Forrest’s shot at making the roster in jeopardy.
Sleeper potential
Jordan Hancock
For a Day 3 pick, there’s a lot to like about what Hancock could bring to the table. When they drafted him, they left options open to cross-train him at both nickel and safety. In the event the Bills decide Hancock’s best position is at nickel, Forrest could have a better look at making the team. However, it’s difficult to project that at this point, as Hancock’s skill set during the spring showed some more comfort at playing with the action in front of him, which would work best at safety. In the short term, Hancock looks like a good bet to be a solid fourth safety, and if he takes to the defensive scheme well, he could even push for Hamlin’s spot as the primary backup. In the long term, Hancock’s instincts and range could bode well for the free safety role, which could complement Bishop’s skill set well at some point in the future. However, that’s a long way out and a large projection, but there is potential there. For now, we’ll see if Hancock lands at safety and if he can work his way up the depth chart to the top backup by this time next year.
Special teams
It’s usually imperative for the backup options to play a healthy amount of special teams — if not all four units. Before he was a starter last season, Hamlin had been used as a core-four special teams piece when active. Hancock and Forrest also project well to special teams work. It’s not an outright guarantee that the Bills will dress all four safeties on the roster when healthy, but the backup group having special teams skills certainly helps them provide flexibility.
Who makes it and why?
Taylor Rapp, Cole Bishop, Damar Hamlin, Jordan Hancock
The Bills generally keep four safeties on the 53-man roster, and that’s the likeliest approach again this season, as they have five players who have a good case to make the team. Rapp and Bishop are the probable starters, making them roster locks. Hamlin and his fully guaranteed deal are a great bet to make the team, too. The fourth safety job at this point goes to Hancock, granted that he winds up sticking there through the summer. Although Forrest had some good reps previously in Washington, the numbers crunch may be too large to overcome, given the team’s draft investment in Hancock.