The battle for starting cornerback is not over yet for the Buffalo Bills.
There weren’t many starting jobs that were up for grabs for the Buffalo Bills entering training camp. On the defensive side of the ball, the only spot was really outside corner opposite Tre’Davious White.
The battle as expected came down to veteran Levi Wallace against Dane Jackson, who was a seventh round pick last year. However, based on media reports, like this tweet from Thad Brown, Wallace has had a commanding lead. That lead only grew with his performance against the Detroit Lions in the first preseason game.
However, defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier is not ready to declare a winner and on Tuesday said the battle is ‘neck and neck’ between the two players, according to Heather Prusak.
#Bills defensive coordinator says Levi Wallace and Dane Jackson are still "neck and neck" for the starting CB2 job. He said they wanted to give Wallace a chance to rest and that's why he didn't play on Saturday. He also said Dane Jackson is getting an MRI today.
— Heather Prusak (@haprusak) August 24, 2021
The position battle could be put on hold for a bit as Leslie Frazier said that Dane Jackson would be getting an MRI after suffering an injury against the Chicago Bears. The second-year cornerback had to leave the game early due to the injury.
It is interesting that with the reports from training camp, combined with the potential injury for Dane Jackson, that Frazier would not name a winner in the position battle. This could be due to the fact that right now the Buffalo Bills don’t need to name a starter.
The NFL season is still three weeks away and with both players expected to be on the 53-man roster, there isn’t any reason to name a starter now. However, this could also mean that Jackson is showing something in practice that is being missed and the coaching staff believes he still has a chance at the starting job.
The Buffalo Bills play their final preseason game on Saturday against the Green Bay Packers. If Dane Jackson is able to play, this is one position that fans should be paying close attention to.