Taylor Rapp's extension is a big Band-Aid to the cuts made in secondary

Wednesday was a big offseason day for the Buffalo Bills. They let go of key secondary players Jordan Poyer and Tre'Davious White to help clear cap space for the upcoming extensions and free agent moves they may make.

One of those extension moves was made on Wednesday when it was reported that they are bringing back safety Taylor Rapp on a 3-year, $14.5 million deal. This is massive from the general standpoint that Buffalo had a big hole to fill at safety in Poyer and Rapp has the NFL experience to do that.

Production-wise, Rapp had a down year in Buffalo compared to his previous four seasons with the Los Angeles Rams. He finished with 50 total tackles which is the second-fewest out of any of his four seasons. He managed to grab a huge interception in the Bills' AFC East clinching win over the Miami Dolphins in Week 18. He was also responsible for a fumble recovery in Buffalo's dominant win at the beginning of the season against the Las Vegas Raiders.

With all of that being said, a dip in production may be connected to the fact that Rapp was put in a secondary that performs extremely well every year with many Pro Bowlers. The Bills' pass defense has been ranked in the top half of the NFL for the past three seasons including being number one during 2021-22 when Rapp was still in Los Angeles.

With Poyer now gone and a contract for Micah Hyde really up in the air due to tight funds for the Bills, Rapp could be the main man in 2024 unlike how he was last season under the wing of both Poyer and Hyde (when he was healthy). This could be a big boost for Rapp's career as it enters the veteran portion.

Regardless, an extension of a notable safety this early after making cuts in the defensive back room is a win for the Bills. It keeps a figurehead in the unit to keep the good play going from a top ten NFL pass defense a season ago.