I wrote about three areas of needs for the Bills heading into the 2023 off-season, one of those positions being the safeties. The Buffalo Bills have some questions in the defensive backfield that need to be answered sooner than later. Jordan Poyer is a free agent and according to spotrac.com, is currently valued at $11 million per year. Will the Bills be able to retain him for the 2023 season?
The team can certainly make room under the cap, but the question remains, will Poyer want to return and will the Bills be willing to pay what other teams might pay. What about Damar Hamlin? It seems he plans to return but we have no idea if this will be the case.
Oh, by the way, Dean Marlowe and Jaquan Johnson are both free agents as well. What about Micah Hyde, we know he’s returning but he missed an entire season now, coming off the injury and has only one year left on his deal. The Bills currently only have four safeties under contract and only Hyde is a proven starter, while the other three are essentially career backups.
We are hearing Christian Benford could be an option and may very well move to safety for the 2023 season. This does make sense, given the Bills will have Tre’Davious White, Kaiir Elam and Taron Johnson to fill out the boundary corner spots and in the slot. But even still, will he successfully transition to the role?
As a result of these question marks, the Buffalo Bills will need to have answers to fill those positions, potentially for 2023 and definitely beyond. So, I’ve listed a safety that could be available for the Bills in each of the first three rounds, depending on when or even if, they decide to draft one.