Orchard Park, N.Y. (WGR 550) - My 2024 "State of the Bills" positional series continues with a look at the cornerbacks:
Under contract:
- Tre’Davious White (expected to be released)
- Rasul Douglas
- Christian Benford
- Taron Johnson
- Kaiir Elam
- Ja’Marcus Ingram
- Kyron Brown
Pending free agents:
- Dane Jackson
State of the position:
The first huge domino fell at cornerback this week when we learned the Bills are expected to release White with a post-June 1 designation.
White was the very first draft pick of head coach Sean McDermott, selected 27th overall back in the 2017 NFL Draft. He’s been an outstanding player for the team, but two season-ending injuries over the past three years, coupled with his large salary cap hit put the Bills in a tough situation, and they have reportedly decided to move on.
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On the field, they also saw Douglas come in at the trade deadline last year and play outstanding football.
In just eight starts with the Bills, Douglas collected four interceptions, returning one for a touchdown, recovered two fumbles and also registered one sack.
Douglas will be 30-years-old in August, and is under contract for one more season. The Bills will reportedly restructure his contract to save approximately $2.5 million against this year‘s salary cap. It will be interesting to see exactly how that restructure looks.
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On the other side of the field from Douglas will be Benford likely starting as CB2 in 2024.
Benford had a solid second season with the team, and proved to be a quality, starting NFL cornerback with a pair of interceptions, including one in the team’s key Week 18 win over the Miami Dolphins to capture a fourth-straight AFC East title. He also forced two fumbles on the season.
Benford missed two regular season games, then was injured after just 13 snaps in the Bills' first playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steeler. That also forced him to miss their AFC Divisional Round loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
He also missed both 2022 playoff games due to injury, and has missed 14 of a possible 38 games over his first two seasons. Injuries will be something the team will have to monitor as they go forward, but he remains on his rookie contract for two more years, offering great value for the club.
Johnson is going into the final year of his current contract, but is still playing at a very high-level at slot cornerback.
He’s still only going to be 28-years-old this coming season, so the team may even want to look at extending his contract, which would allow them to possibly lower his $12.4 million salary cap hit.
Behind Douglas and Benford on the outside are Jackson and Elam, but Jackson is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent next week.
The 27-year-old has been a really nice backup, and has been pressed into a starting role routinely over his first four seasons, notching 28 total starts. Playing on the last year of his deal last season, Jackson made over $2 million.
This one can go either way. It will be very interesting to see what Jackson's market value holds, and if any team values him as a regular starting cornerback, or if he re-signs with the Bills to basically continue in the same role.
Elam has certainly not been the player they had hoped for since drafting him in the first round in 2022. Or maybe he just hasn’t had the chance to be?
That’s the big question the Bills have to answer, and most likely soon, because he can rarely get on the field. Elam has only played 16 games through the first two years of his career, including three during last year's regular season.
One of the games Elam started last year was in London against the Jacksonville Jaguars. He was targeted quite often, and on the wrong end of a big day from Jaguars receivers.
However, in back-to-back seasons, while having to fill in for injury, Elam has also come up with a huge interception in a playoff game, giving him four picks in 20 career games.
With two years still remaining on his rookie contract, if Elam can step up and play a bigger role, it would be a huge boost for the team. If not, they may look to divest themselves from him, if they can get any value in return.
I really like Ingram‘s game. The University at Buffalo undrafted free agent in 2022 has seen action in five contest over two years. At 6-foot-2 and 190 pounds, he’s long and athletic. He will no doubt compete for a depth roster spot this season, signing a Reserve/Future contract to come back to the team.
Brown also signed a Reserve/Future contract for 2024. He’s spent time with four different NFL teams since entering the league as an undrafted free agent with the New York Jets in 2019. He’s played four games, with one start.
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