With the Buffalo Bills' recent signing of the do-it-all defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson, the Bills were not done adding to the position. They also signed former Cincinnati Bengals safety Geno Stone.
The 26-year-old signed a one-year deal with the team and is eager to win a starting role at safety. He will compete against players like Cole Bishop, and Jordan Hancock after Taylor Rapp's release.
Why Geno Stone's signing will help improve Bills' defense
1. Depth and versatility
• The Bills signed Stone due to his ball-hawking skills on the outside while also moving inside to either stop the run or blitz the quarterback. He made all 34 starts in two seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals from 2024 to 2025 and was the AFC leader with seven interceptions while with the Baltimore Ravens in 2023.
• The Baltimore Ravens originally drafted him in the seventh round of the 2020 NFL Draft, and he has since turned into a diamond in the rough NFL safety.
• Stone transitioned to an in-the-box player in 2025, which led to a career best 104 tackles with two sacks. This is music to defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard's ears, as he can now switch between Stone and Gardner-Johnson to mix up coverages and confuse opposing passing attacks.
2. High football IQ
• Stone has 14 NFL picks in his tenure and is a smart and instinctive cover safety, often creating more turnovers.
• Stone is confident in what he does in coverage and inserts himself in the right location. He knows the rules, applies them quickly, and knows when to bend them a bit in light of the competing offense.
3. Elite ball skills
• The Bills will be running an attacking defense this season with "Big Nickel Packages," which will consist of three safeties all out on the field trying to pick off opposing quarterbacks and make them think they're throwing into tight spaces.
• If that's the case, then look for Stone to be a rock at picking off passes or laying the big hit when in the box.
• The Bills will likely get more than what they wished for when signing Stone to only a one-year deal.
4. Stats
• In 2025, Stone had a monumental season that would define his fate in free agency for 2026. He had a career-high 104 tackles, two interceptions, and two sacks while once again playing in all 17 games.
• 2025 marked the fourth year in a row in which he was healthy for all 17 games. It made an immediate impact on his team and on their entire defensive unit. He was the one bright spot in two otherwise consecutive bottom-of-the-barrel defenses in Cincinnati.
Look for 2026 to be a year in which Stone figures out how to learn Leonhard's system, and hopefully, by the end of the regular season, he will be an all-pro safety and wreak havoc in the postseason.
Stone is a great signing on paper, but the goal is for him and the defense to finally play well in the postseason, get the team over the hump, and win their first-ever Lombardi Trophy.