The Buffalo Bills are heading into the 2025 season with a hole in their secondary, losing a starting cornerback with no clear path yet on how to replace him.
One NFL analyst believes they could find one in the trade market, targeting a veteran cornerback who may be looking for a change of scenery. The Bills will likely need to add a starting-caliber defensive back to replace Rasul Douglas, who hit free agency after starting 15 games for the team in 2024.
Bills Could Add Depth in Secondary
Bleacher Report’s Moe Moton suggested the Bills could find some help from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, landing cornerback Jamel Dean for a relatively low price. Moton proposed the Bills would trade a 2025 fifth-round pick to the Buccaneers for the cornerback who has been a “disappointing” since signing a four-year, $52 million contract extension in 2023.
“Over the last two years, the 28-year-old has recorded 11 pass breakups and one interception while allowing a passer rating of 111 and 91.2 for the 2023 and 2024 terms, respectively. He’s also missed nine games in that span,” Moton wrote, adding that the Buccaneers are looking for a change in their secondary after ranking near the bottom of the NFL in yards allowed last season despite a strong pass rush.
“If Tampa Bay targets a cornerback early in the upcoming draft, Dean may be available for a Super Bowl-contending squad looking to fill a need,” Moton wrote.
Bills Have More Moves Ahead
The Bills have made some moves in their secondary, bringing back former cornerback Dane Jackson, who played four seasons in Buffalo before leaving in free agency last season. Though Jackson will provide some important depth at the position, he will likely not compete for the starting role that Douglas vacated.
Jackson will likely take over for former first-round pick Kaiir Elam, who struggled in Buffalo before being traded to the Dallas Cowboys earlier this month.
The Bills also face a looming decision on standout cornerback Christian Benford, a sixth-round pick in 2022 who surpassed Elam on the depth chart and has become one of the league’s best at his position.
Bills general manager Brandon Beane said the team is in discussions with Benford for a contract extension, but has not divulged any details. Beane told reporters in March that this would fit in the team’s long-term strategy to draft players and develop them into stars, then keep them in-house.
“If you could draw up what I want ideally for this team it’s draft, develop — when I say develop that’s on and off the field, the full person, the player — and re-sign,” Beane said, via SB Nation’s Buffalo Rumblings. “Sometimes the business gets in the way and we’ve had to let guys go because we knew we just couldn’t afford them or we weren’t on the same page where their market was.”
The Bills have given extensions to several other home-grown talents in recent weeks, including defensive end Greg Rousseau who landed a relatively team-friendly four-year extension for $80 million. The team also locked quarterback Josh Allen down for the rest of the decade, signing him through the 2030 season for a record-setting $330 million with $250 million guaranteed.
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