The Buffalo Bills made news in the early evening on Thursday when it was announced by Adam Schefter that cornerback Tre’Davious White and the Bills have agreed on a one-year deal worth up to $6.8 million. The Bills are bringing back their first-round pick from 2017, who was Sean McDermott’s first draft selection as the Bills’ head coach.
White was drafted 27th overall in 2017 by the Bills and became a franchise shutdown corner early on in his career. He was the runner up for Defensive Rookie of the Year, and earned Pro Bowl honors twice, along with First-Team All-Pro honors once. White was one of the best corners in the game early on and he looked like a superstar.
Then White’s tenure with the Bills took a turn for the worst in 2021 when he tore his ACL on Thanksgiving. He missed the remainder of that season and half of the 2022 as well. In 2023, White had solid play in his first three games but then he tore his achilles in Week 4 against the Miami Dolphins which ended his season once again.
The Bills would then release White in the offseason last year, in which he signed a one-year deal with the Los Angeles Rams in hopes of turning his career around. Instead, his tenure in LA was so bad, the Rams decided to trade White to the Baltimore Ravens at the trade deadline.
Now, White is coming back to the team that helped him become an All-Pro. In addition, the Bills also get familiarity with White and they add to a secondary that was lacking a CB2 opposite of Christian Benford.
Signing of Tre White gives Buffalo Bills little flexibility heading into NFL Draft
Obviously White is not a long-term solution for the Bills in their secondary. However, he does provide a little bit more stability than what the Bills had yesterday. If Buffalo needs him to play in Week 1, that’s no an issue at all.
At the same time, the Bills still need to bring in another young corner in the first two rounds. Whether it’s someone like Trey Amos, Shavon Revel, or Darien Porter, Buffalo needs to bring in someone who can eventually take over for White after 2025.
This deal between the Bills and White is fair. Buffalo gets a familiar corner on a cheaper veteran contract, while White can still earn money despite being in a slump in the last year. Brandon Beane now has some flexibility for next week’s draft, so we will see which direction he will go.