The Buffalo Bills made some changes to their secondary at the start of training camp, releasing one veteran cornerback and replacing him with another.
The team announced on July 28 that they waived Cameron Dantzler with an injury designation and replaced him with former Dallas Cowboys cornerback Kyron Brown. While both Dantzler and Brown would likely compete for a reserve role, the Bills are expected to have an open battle in training camp to determine who will start opposite Tre’Davious White in the secondary.
Bills Add Depth to Secondary
The team had signed Dantzler in June after he was released by the Washington Commanders. Dantzler entered the NFL as a third-round pick of the Minnesota Vikings in 2020, where he started 26 games. During that time Dantzler had 149 tackles, three interceptions, three forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries.
Jay Skurski of the Buffalo News projected that Dantzler would not make the final roster, noting that the Bills have plenty of depth at cornerback after using a seven-round draft pick on Alex Austin. He added that the position is so deep, the Bills would likely be forced to cut two players they had spent considerable time developing in Ja’Marcus Ingram and Cam Lewis.
We’ve signed CB Kyron Brown and waived/injured CB Cameron Dantzler.
“None of those cuts will be easy to make, but the projected top six all have defined roles,” Skurski wrote.
Dantzler will be replaced by Brown, who last played in the NFL in 2021 with the Cowboys. He joined the Tennesee Titans’ practice squad in October 2022 and was released in January.
Battle for Starting Position
Skurski added that the Bills are expected to have a “spirited competition” this summer for the role of No. 2 cornerback. Second-year cornerback Kaiir Elam is expected to come out on top, especially after the Bills traded up in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft to land him, Skurski noted.
“Let’s be real: Elam needs to win that job,” he wrote. “If he doesn’t, spending a first-round draft pick on him last year will start to look sketchy.”
But Elam will likely face a challenge from fellow 2022 draft pick Christian Benford, who started five games and made 24 total tackles with one interception. Benford is highly regarded by the coaching staff, with defensive backs coach John Butler praising his coachability.
“He can process very quickly with minimal coaching. Therefore, you feel comfortable knowing I’m going to put him out there and he knows what he’s doing,” Butler told the Buffalo News. “He never makes an excuse. He doesn’t say much, but he’s very intelligent, very confident and very experienced. He’s just experienced with life. That’s what you see when you get a guy like that.”
Butler went on to say that he has total faith in Benford, which was on display when he had played 58% of defensive snaps in the team’s season-opening win against the reigning Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams.
“The DNA of the person and the DNA of the football player projects that confidence. When he goes out there to play, you know who he is as a person. … I never had a problem any time putting him out there in games last year, whether it was game one against the Rams or whenever. Not one point was it ever like, ‘He can’t do it.’ ”
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Bills Sign Ex-Cowboys CB After Losing Another DB to Injury