Winners and losers on the Buffalo Bills roster following the 2020 NFL Draft.
As is with every draft, every player on the Buffalo Bills got some new teammates. But depending on who those players are… some incumbents from last season are feeling pretty comfy about things.
While others now have a young guy in their position group, potentially vying for their job.
If the 2020 NFL Draft is the fence right down the middle of things, one side of it has some winners while the other has some losers on Buffalo’s roster.
Here’s our list of winners and losers on the Bills roster following the recent draft:
Losers
Buffalo Bills running back T.J. Yeldon. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)
RB TJ Yeldon
Both Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane said prior to the draft that they’d be fine with their backfield being Devin Singletary and TJ Yeldon.
It was their most obvious smokescreen to the rest of the NFL.
Everyone knew the Bills wanted a guy like Zack Moss. Bigger, more like Frank Gore and less like Singletary. Yeldon was not that guy. If Yeldon makes Buffalo’s final roster, he’ll likely be a candidate to be inactive plenty on game day once again like he was last year. There’s little chance he’ll see running back snaps next season unless injury strikes.
He is the state of the Buffalo Bills secondary entering the 2019 offseason.
Here is Bills Wire’s position-by-position breakdown of the team’s roster, continuing with the secondary, including the season that was and projecting forward:
Jordan Poyer, center, and Micah Hyde charge onto the field fpr an NFL football game against the New England Patriots, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2019, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)
The Buffalo Bills secondary has been arguably the best positional grouping during the Sean McDermott era. Cornerback Tre’Davious White, the first draft pick for McDermott, was honored with First-Team All-Pro honors and a trip to the Pro Bowl. Safeties Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer, two of the regime’s earliest free agent signings, have become cornerstones for the franchise over the past three years.
White had another stellar season, en route to entering his name into the national discussion for best cornerbacks in the league. He was regularly matched against the opponent’s top receiving threat. The LSU product registered 58 tackles, six interceptions (tied for the league lead), and 17 passes defensed.
Levi Wallace played the opposite corner position from White. The undrafted free agent has held his own, registering 76 tackles, nine passes defensed, and two interceptions. However, he has been susceptible to getting beat by receivers in his second season.
Taron Johnson worked primarily against slot receivers. He was adequate, although he did not seem to have the impact that he did as a rookie two years ago.
Kevin Johnson provided veteran depth, seeing action in all 16 games. He recorded 32 tackles, one sack, and five passes defensed. Overall, he provided the necessary support for the unit when needed.
Hyde and Poyer were great at the back of the defense. Poyer was second on the team with 104 total tackles. Hyde added 72 total tackles to the ledger this year. Both are solid leaders and essential components of this defense’s dominance.
Siran Neal, a fifth-round pick in the 2018 draft, was a versatile player, spelling Johnson when a bigger, more physical player was needed in the slot. He took a solid step forward in this second professional season, taking on more responsibility in the slot.
Dean Marlowe, Jaquan Johnson, and Kurt Coleman provided depth in the secondary. A good deal of their contributions came on the special teams. unit.
Bills CB Tre’Davious White. Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports
Contract status
White enters the fourth-year of his rookie deal. He will count $3.2 million against the salary cap. The All-Pro will have the team’s fifth-year option at hand for the 2021 season. However, the Bills will do everything in their power to sign White to a long-term deal. But with others from his rookie class such as Dion Dawkins and Matt Milano also on expiring contracts that don’t have a fifth-year option, the Bills might opt to flex that option.
Johnson will cost approximately $821,000 against the cap in his third season.
Hyde and Poyer have been bargains on their deals, outplaying their cap hits. Hyde has two more years on his deal at a cap hit of approximately $6.7 million. Poyer takes on the final year of his deal carrying a cap hit of just over $4 million.
Neal and Jaquan Johnson are moving their way through their entry-level deals, with Neal costing the team approximately $730,000 toward the cap while Johnson will constitute about $631,000 in the cap figure.
Kevin Johnson and Coleman are unrestricted free agents this year. Marlowe is a restricted free agent, while Wallace is an exclusive rights free agent.
The future
The entire starting group has outplayed their contracts. Thus, someone’s going to get PAID soon. The first priority is White. The Bills let Stephon Gilmore walk in 2017. With teams in need of matching high-powered offenses with top-flight cornerbacks, the position has taken a higher level of value in recent years. Thus, money will be dedicated to the cornerback position in the near future.
Poyer and Hyde present interesting conundrums for the team. Poyer has one more year on his deal. Eventually, several players are going to command new deals, including White, Josh Allen, Devin Singletary, Matt Milano, and Tremaine Edmunds. With Poyer fit into the team’s long-term plans? He will be 29-years-old next season. Even though he has been very productive, his work may eventually price himself out of Buffalo’s plans. This will be up to general manager Brandon Beane’s mastery to get all of these players under contract. Also, McDermott may bank on his expertise to bring along a lower-cost option in place of Poyer in 2021. There’s a lot to untangle at this spot.
For now, Hyde and Poyer will continue to a strength of the defense.
Taron Johnson and Neal could battle for first-team reps at the cornerback spot. Neal demonstrated a physicality and flexibility that was impressive for his role.
The most intriguing spot will be opposite White. Wallace played well at times, but also faced bouts of inconsistency. Buffalo would most likely not entertain free agent starting options, so the draft could be an interesting spot for consideration. Virginia’s Bryce Hall, Alabama’s Trevon Diggs, and Utah’s Jaylon Johnson could be players to watch as the Combine takes place.
Kevin Johnson could be re-signed for depth purposes if he is cost-effective. Wallace, as an exclusive rights free agent, most likely will return to Buffalo. However, it may be challenging for him to return as the starter after the offseason.
Buffalo Bills LB Matt Milano, S Siran Neal on missed tackles vs. Houston Texans QB Deshaun Watson.
The Bills had their Wild Card game against the Houston Texans wrapped up. Literally and figuratively, to an extent.
The game wouldn’t have been over, but the Texans also would not have won on an amazing play from quarterback Deshaun Watson had linebacker Matt Milano and defensive back Siran Neal wrapped up the QB for a sack.
With four minutes left in overtime on a second-and-6, that Bills’ duo blitzed the QB and had him. Until seconds later he spun out of it and dumped a pass off to former Bills running back Taiwan Jones, who scampered for 34 yards.
It set up the game-winning field game for the Texans which ended Buffalo’s season. Following the game, Milano and Neal both told the Buffalo News that there were no excuses for the Bills not being in a third-and-long situation via a sack, rather than defending a field goal, only seconds later.
“We just missed it. It’s that simple. I’m not going to go into making excuses for it. We missed the tackle,” Milano said.
“I had him,” Neal added. “When I hit him, I saw somebody hit him from the front and he just spun off. We hit him from the back and hit him from the front and he stayed up. It was a great quarterback play.”
While Milano and Neal were down about the situation, Watson, naturally, was puffing out his chest.
“I knew I was gonna do that, honestly,” Watson said. “I mean, I just knew I wasn’t going down.”
While the missed tackle is the most glaring squandered opportunity for the Bills to end the game, or give themselves another chance, that’s not the only reason Buffalo lost. The offense only mustered three second half points, the defense allowed a first down on third-and-16 in the second half plus other numerous missed passes and plays.
Still, one has to feel for both Milano and Neal, who will both likely be back with the Bills in 2020.
Injury reports for both the Buffalo Bills and Denver Broncos ahead of their Week 12 meeting at New Era Field.
The Bills will do battle with the Denver Broncos at New Era Field in Week 12.
Here are early injury reports from Wednesday for both teams ahead of the meeting:
Denver Broncos (3-7)
Did not practice
OL Dalton Risner (ankle)
C Connor McGovern (back)
OL Ron Leary (shoulder/ neck)
LB Joe Jones (foot)
LB Justin Hollins (hamstring)
WR Tim Patrick (shoulder)
Limited
OL Ja’Wuan James (knee)
TE Jeff Heuerman (knee)
Notes:
Dalton Risner, Connor McGovern and Ron Leary are all starters on the Broncos’ offensive line. … Tim Patrick returned from injury last week and could be sitting out as a precaution. … Ja’Wuan James started at right tackle last week for the Broncos, but Denver head coach Vic Fangio said on Wednesday “it could be this week or next week.”
Buffalo Bills (7-3)
Did not practice
OL Ty Nsekhe (ankle)
S Siran Neal (concussion)
DE Jerry Hughes (groin)
Notes:
Buffalo head coach Sean McDermot labeled Ty Nsekhe as “week-to-week” so he’s unlikely to play vs. the Broncos and rookie Cody Ford would start in his place. … Jerry Hughes played in Week 11 vs. the Dolphins despite being questionable with the same groin injury heading into the game. … Siran Neal exited Buffalo’s Week 11 game.
