For numerous reasons, Jordan Poyer is the most difficult free agent to predict for the Buffalo Bills.
Poyer has tons of value. Every regular season game he played in last season, Buffalo won.
But the overriding factor in the other direction is age. Not only is Poyer entering age 32 next year, which is slightly worrisome in general, he also dealt with a slew of injuries in 2022.
Then there’s the money side of things. The Bills are approximately $20 million over the projected salary cap for next year. Buffalo general manager Brandon Beane would have to do some incredible work to get Poyer signed, let alone weighing bringing him back against other teammates that are also pending free agents.
Regardless, ESPN thinks somebody is going to get a good player.
Ahead of free agency opening in March, the former world-wide leader named the 50-best players in the NFL that are slated to hit the open market. Poyer earned the No. 22 spot on this list.
Check out ESPN’s breakdown on Poyer below and why he’s still a valuable asset to a defense:
It will be interesting to see how teams value a 32-year-old safety, but we still see the versatile ability of Poyer when he’s on the field. With four interceptions and eight pass breakups this season, he showed that he’s a productive defender who can play from post, split field or rolled-down alignments. He dealt with knee, ribs and elbow injuries this season and missed four games, but he has played in at least 15 games every season since 2017. Plus, his coverage skills still show on the stat sheet; he allowed just 14 catches for 102 yards as the nearest defender in coverage, according to NFL Next Gen Stats.
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