The Buffalo Bills have not been super active since the opening of the legal tampering period, but they have made some solid moves that might be overlooked. Prior to the legal tampering period, the Bills did manage to agree to terms on a deal that would bring wide receiver D.J. Moore to Buffalo from Chicago.
They also pulled off a trade with the Las Vegas Raiders, sending CB Taron Johnson and a 2026 7th-round pick in exchange for a 6th-round pick. Both Josh Allen’s and Ed Oliver’s contracts were restructured also.
Buffalo’s first move in the tampering period was to agree to terms with CB Dee Alford from the Atlanta Falcons. Since then, the Bills have brought in OLB Bradley Chubb and S C.J. Gardner-Johnson. With the Gardner-Johnson signing, this secondary has the chance to be something way different for the better under Jim Leonhard.
The Bills have some work to do still to fill out this defense and while they will, there is one free agency loss that could hurt them greatly simply because of the versatility factor.
Bills losing DB Cam Lewis could hurt big time (and fans may not realize it)
Jeremy Fowler reported that the Chicago Bears had signed Cam Lewis on a two-year deal. Lewis had been with the Bills since 2020 and played his college career at the University at Buffalo.
In Lewis’ Bills tenure, he became an under appreciated versatile defender who could line up outside, in the slot, or at safety.
Since 2022, Lewis has seen a great amount of playing time with the Bills and he had a bit of a breakout season in 2024 with 68 total tackles, 1 interception, and 4 pass deflections. From a rotational point of view, Lewis provided fantastic value. Now he will bring it to Chicago.
Losing a player who can essentially be put anywhere on the defense and play at a high level is hard to accept. I’m not saying that Lewis was Buffalo’s best secondary defender, but he was reliable and he made some hard crushing hits as well. His intensity would have been great in addition to Gardner-Johnson arriving.
While the trust is there for Brandon Beane to fill out the depth in the secondary, losing Lewis is more impactful than fans may think. If he thrives in Chicago, Bills fans may look back and ask why the Bills didn’t bring him back (or even tried to bring him back).