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With the last three years’ worth of moves in free agency and the draft, the Bills are more than ready to handle the impending departure of Da’Norris Searcy. To do so, that may require moving Corey Graham to safety, which would in turn require another corner to be added to the mix, should the premise of an untested Ross Cockrell, Ron Brooks or Mario Butler do not excite. In Rex’s scheme (albeit under Pettine) Leodis acquitted himself quite well and Stephon Gilmore started down the road to *deep intake* ‘Shutdown Corner’ status, so starters should be set. In the slot Robey can be used as the ‘little blitzer that could’ and work in tandem with one of the aforementioned depending on the opponent’s personnel.
Position: Cornerback
System Need: Low to Moderate
Typical Cost: 1.5 – 16 million per year.
Potential Targets:
Kyle Wilson, New York Jets: Wilson over his Jets career had been in the shadow of Revis and Cromartie. He’s found his stride of late as a nickel corner and could challenge for the role in Buffalo, should they move Corey Graham to safety. Additionally, if they decided to part ways with Brooks and didn’t trust Cockrell to step in, Wilson would be solid depth for all the dime packages the Bills will use. Kyle would cost a little – somewhere in the Leodis range (3-4 million a year). If they part with Leo, that would also bear watching.
Antonio Cromartie, Arizona: Bringing Antonio in may be a bit of a struggle for a few reasons. One, he hit it off with new Jet head coach Todd Bowles, so he may want to make a return to the Big Apple. Two, Cromartie has never been one (as noted even in “Collision Low Crossers“) for tackling, so the assumption would be his coverage would more than make up for that. That’s a struggle the Bills don’t need right now, but if Rex is hell-bent on getting one of his guys on defense and the previously mentioned pieces don’t fit at other positions I can see it.
Chris Cook, San Fransisco: Cook was injured most of the year, so this would be more of a flyer/prove it situation. He’s a longer corner (6’1) and would be a good body to stick alongside Gilmore in dime looks, sliding Leo inside with Graham. Because of his hamstring injury he should be fairly inexpensive, but if a bidding war were to break out, I’d say eject, eject!
Darrelle Revis, New England (CUT): Getting Revis would be a coup of sorts for the Bills. Not in a “ooh I can’t believe he signed here” way, but more of a “wow he really put his relationship with Rex above all”. I say that because if Revis signed in Buffalo you have to keep one rule in mind – Darrelle doesn’t believe in being paid “over the course of” a deal. So a signing bonus wouldn’t do it. You have to literally pay him what he wants each year. From a cap standpoint that’s 12-15 million. In Pegula-World, that’s not a problem as far as money goes, but cap wise you have to be prepared to have Revis’ number sitting there like Yokozuna on Bret Hart’s chest. And next year he’ll be joined by the 12 million it’ll cost to tender Gilmore his 5th year – putting the total for starting corners at 25 million to go with the 50 million the Bills defensive line will cost. If they do it, great – but I look forward to the #SaveMeatball tweets that’ll drop when his 2016 7 million dollar salary is discussed…
At safety, one of Buddy’s going away gifts have a chance to step into the spotlight – 2013 draftees Jonathan Meeks and Duke Williams. Of the two, Duke has gotten opportunities to get on the field in 3 safety situations and to spell Searcy. Aaron Williams did quite well last year, with Byrd’s injury in New Orleans justifying his extension to some. Last year’s hero of the Green Bay game Bacarri Rambo will figure into the mix as well, but for the most part the position should remain (outside of Graham) the same. The options out there are plentiful, but given the cash given out to Aaron Williams last year, Da’Norris will be moving on – meaning the Bills will still be a “only one safety gets paid” organization. Given that, here are a pair of safeties that won’t break the bank..
Position: Safety
System Need: Low
Typical Cost: 1.5 – 10 million per year.
Potential Targets:
Dawan Landry, New York Jets: Unlike his brother LaRon, Dawan will bring production in a Rex Ryan defense without the fear of a P.E.D. suspension. Last year was one of his best seasons (only three missed tackles!) and has been a long-time member of the Rex Ryan Favorites club. If the Bills brought him in Landry could help out in the big nickel (3 safety) defenses as well as have a time-share relationship similar to Duke Williams and Searcy last year. Since he’s a little longer in the tooth, he shouldn’t cost most either.
Jim Leonhard, Cleveland (and Buffalo and New York Jets and Baltimore…): Jim’s been in the system, he’ll come cheap and he will perform when called upon. If he’s just ST depth and a guy that knows how to help coach players on the field, that’s worth it. But I think they’d only do this if they’re all in on Duke, Meeks or Rambo being the lead dogs. If they’re looking for true competition / having a Rex guy on the field, I’d think Landry would be it.
So, we did it guys! All the free agent fits for the Bills needs have been covered and we’ve got a few hours to spare. If you liked this series, or have any suggestions on how I can make it better next year, please let me know (@RDotDeuce). After the flurry of the first week or so of free agency I’ll do a Bills-centric recap to hit on the big signings (#AllTheFullbacks) and throw my 2 cents into where they may go when the “bargain” buys of FA may be. It’s been fun.
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