And then there were two… or so it seems.
With the way the 2023 preseason rounded out for the Buffalo Bills, it appears that the positional battle to start at cornerback across from Tre’Davious White is down to Dane Jackson or Christian Benford.
Following Buffalo’s 24-21 preseason win over the Chicago Bears, head coach Sean McDermott noted that it’s “still an open competition,” and specifically indicated that former first-round pick Kaiir Elam is still in the mix.
Unfortunately for McDermott, actions speak louder than words. A player who is still in the game in the preseason finale’s second half, as Elam was, doesn’t indicate a good sign.
But on the positive side of the ledger, Benford had a good outing against the Bears. Not only did he get his first start of the preseason (Jackson did the first two contests), he made the biggest play of the trio.
Benford forced an incompletion on a Justin Fields’ pass to No. 1 Chicago receiver DJ Moore. It was on third down, too.
Benford said he recognized the situation and was confident in his abilities.
“My confidence is always at a good level,” Benford told the Buffalo News. “Whenever they put me on the field, I’m ready. That’s how I look at it.”
Even so, after reviewing the game film and speaking to the media again on Sunday, McDermott was still was mum about any potential starter being named.
“They all competed,” McDermott said via video conference. “They did some good things, they’re going to continue to learn, technique, I thought they tackled well as a group which is important as a corner.”
However, there was one nugget the coach revealed.
In a perfect world, you do name a starter in McDermott’s book you do not a rotational situation.
“Ideally you can get one person or two people out there consistently,” McDermott said.
All signs point to all three players making the Bills final roster with cut down day looming on Tuesday at 4 p.m. If the expected is the case, it’s unlikely McDermott will reveal his hand before facing the New York Jets in the season opener.
Bills Wire will bring updates (if any) when information is made available.
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