Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) - My 2024 "State of the Bills" positional series continues with a look at the safeties:
Under contract:
- Taylor Rapp
- Damar Hamlin
- Kendall Wiliamson
Pending free agents:
- Micah Hyde
- Cam Lewis
Recently released:
- Jordan Poyer
State of the position:
There's no doubt this position is going through a transition, maybe more than any other on the Bills roster.
Already gone is Poyer after seven outstanding seasons with the club. The team announced his release last week. The soon-to-be 33-year-old is now free to sign elsewhere immediately.
Related
There's been no definitive answer on Hyde’s future.
Hyde, who just turned 33 himself, is set to become an unrestricted free agent on Wednesday. He's also contemplating retirement.
Even if he decides he wants to play another season, it appears unlikely it would be back in Buffalo. Hyde suffered a severe neck injury and missed most of the 2022 season, then missed three games last season with injuries, including multiple neck stingers.
Related
General manager Brandon Beane noted earlier in the offseason that the team will have to get younger at some positions. Safety is the clear main target of a youth movement, and it’s already started.
The team announce the re-signing of Rapp, who was also set to become an unrestricted free agent. He will return to the Bills after signing a one-year deal with the club last offseason, then playing 16 games with four starts.
The 26-year-old had a rough start to the season, mostly when the Bills were using him in the box as an extra safety and run defender. But as the season went on, he was used more in a traditional free safety role, often to fill in for Hyde or Poyer, and was much more comfortable.
Rapp had only one interception on the season, but it was the game-sealing pick in Week 18 against the Miami Dolphins to help the Bills clinch their fourth-straight AFC East Division crown.
Unfortunately, he was also injured on the same play and was unable to play in either of the team’s two playoff games.
Related
It's hard to believe Lewis has already been with the club for five seasons. He was an undrafted free agent in 2019 out of the University at Buffalo.
After three seasons of spending time on the practice squad, he finally made and carved out a nice role for himself on the 53-man roster in 2022, and became a very valuable contributor over the last two last years.
Lewis was the team’s fourth safety all last season, pressed into a larger role as injuries piled up. But he's also the main backup to slot cornerback Taron Johnson, not to mention a significant core special teams player.
Now he's set to become an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career.
Lewis would be a really nice player for the team to retain, whether in the same type of role or even to compete for a starting safety spot. That shouldn’t cost too much money, but it will be interesting to see how any other team views and values him, as well.
After suffering cardiac arrest on the field in Cincinnati at the end of the 2022 season, Hamlin worked his way back to football and the Bills' active roster. It's a remarkable story of courage and perseverance.
Hamlin was inactive for 12 of the team’s 17 regular season games last season, only suiting up when there were multiple injuries in the secondary. He then also played in both of the club’s two playoff games, and took a direct snap on a fake punt in the AFC Divisional Round against the Kansas City Chiefs, but was unable to get a first down.
The soon-to-be 26-year-old has one year remaining on his rookie contract. They would save a little over $1 million on the salary cap with his release.
Williamson was selected in the seventh round of last year's draft by the Chicago Bears. He didn't make the club, but spent all season on their practice squad.
When the season ended he signed a Reserve/Future contract with the Bills.
Related
