Buffalo Bills: Looking back at owner’s meetings and some smoke, rumors
By Kevin Devine
The Bills continue to be opportunistic in free agency
Taylor Rapp is a safety who was on the Bills radar as a possible replacement for Jordan Poyer. When the market for safeties failed to develop as many thought it would, it created an opportunity for the Bills to add depth for 2023, while also adding a player who could be part of their long-term plans moving forward.
Poyer and Micah Hyde are both aging, and will not continue playing at elite levels forever. By signing Rapp, the Bills added a player who can be a depth piece, but actually projects as much more than that.
Rapp, a former 2nd round pick for the Rams, entered free agency at just 25 years old after starting for four years and winning a Super Bowl with Los Angeles. He started 48 games in those four years, including all 17 in 2022 and seemed likely to earn a mid-level starter contract on a multi-year deal this off-season.
Like Poyer, the offers for Rapp never materialized and he settled for a one-year $1.7 million deal continuing the Bills trend of adding low-cost free agents during the second and third waves of free agency to deals that will not impact their ability to receive compensatory picks in 2024.
It is interesting to look at the Bills off-season and see how they have upgraded their offensive line, added the big running back that they needed, re-signed one of their two big defensive free agents, and continued to leave flexibility to make a bigger move by restructuring other contracts if the opportunity presents itself.