Another potential option for the Buffalo Bills to address the cornerback position is to bring back a player who saw significant snaps in 2019. Let’s make the case for the Bills to sign free agent cornerback Kevin Johnson.
Career
Kevin Johnson was a first round pick by the Houston Texans in 2015 and spent the first four years of his career with the Texans. While Johnson had good moments and showed flashes of the player the Texans envisioned when they drafted him, he struggled to stay healthy and stay on the field.
He played in 16 games only once, which was his rookie season, and over the next three seasons played a combined 19 games. In 2016, Johnson suffered a broken foot then missed four games in 2017 due to an MCL sprain and in his final season with the Texans suffered a concussion in Week 1 and missed the remainder of the year.
In his one season with the Bills, injuries were not an issue and he played in all 16 regular season games and even started the Wild Card game against the Houston Texans where he had nine total tackles.
He left after the season and signed a one-year deal with the Cleveland Browns, playing in 13 games with six starts. He finished with 35 total tackles and three passes defended.
Why the Buffalo Bills might sign Kevin Johnson
The biggest reason the Buffalo Bills might consider bringing back Kevin Johnson is he knows this system and proved he could be a contributor. The familiarity he has with Sean McDermott, Leslie Frazier and the rest of the coaching staff would make it an easy transition to working him back into this defense.
However, the addition of Kevin Johnson shouldn’t be a guaranteed fix for the position. He would likely return as a veteran depth piece to the position that could compete for a starting job or step in if the starter suffers an injury, which would be valuable to this defense.