Getty Jordan Poyer #21 of the Buffalo Bills runs a drill before a preseason game against the Indianapolis Colts at Highmark Stadium on August 13, 2022 in Orchard Park, New York.
Back in April, the Buffalo Bills All-Pro safety Jordan Poyer hired high-powered agent Drew Rosenhaus, who went public about his client’s plea for a new deal, and his wife, Rachel Bush, pushed her husband to demand a pay raise on Twitter.
After nearly six months of negotiations, Poyer and the Bills have come to a temporary agreement. On Saturday, September 10, ESPN’s Field Yates reported that the 31-year-old was getting a new deal, however, it would not be the extension he wanted.
Yates tweeted, “The Bills & S Jordan Poyer agreed to a reworked contract for 2022 that increases the amount he can earn via incentives from $500K to $2M, his agent @DrewJRosenhaus confirmed: ‘Jordan appreciates this good will gesture by the Bills as we continue to work for a contract extension.'”
Jordan Poyer and the Buffalo Bills have agreed to modify his contract to increase his potential earnings from $500k to $2M based on incentives according to Field Yates
In March 2020, the Bills signed Poyer to a two-year extension worth up to $19.5 million with $8.5 million guaranteed, per Spotrac.com. Poyer has a $5.6 million salary during the final year of his contract, and the $2 million in possible incentives will be paid on top of his base salary.
While the pay raise is complimentary, Rosenhaus made it clear in his statement that this new deal fell short of what he and his client were looking for, and Poyer’s wife feels the same way.
After the news broke, Bush retweeted a humorous message from a fan that felt the Bills’ offer was more of a fake-out. The fan tweeted, “‘The Bills & S Jordan Poyer agreed to a’ 😁 ‘reworked contract for 2022’ 😥.” The Instagram model also shared an article from a Cover 1 host who tweeted, “Today is a good day to remind #BillsMafia and the rest of the #NFL that Jordan Poyer is really good at football.”
Bush received messages of support following her retweets. A Bills fan responded, “Honestly I hope this is the first step to a contract extension. Losing Poyer is like losing part of your heart,” while one woman tweeted, “Need All Pro Po! He’s part of the foundation of the defense. Besides his physical talents his leadership and knowledge elevate the team.”
Without an extension, the Oregan State alum will become an unrestricted agent in March 2023.
Poyer Quickly Recovered From a Painful Elbow Injury in Order to Start Week 1
A close-up look at Poyer coming off the field for the #Bills. Great 👀 @anthony88962513
Poyer suffered an elbow injury on August 2 that caused him to miss all of the Bills’ preseason. The timing couldn’t have been worse, not only because there was little over a month before their primetime season opener, but Poyer had brought Rosenhaus to training camp to get the ball rolling on his extension.
Poyer told Spectrum News 1 Buffalo’s Jon Scott, that he “never experienced pain like he did injuring his elbow in training camp. That includes when he suffered a lacerated kidney. Got so excruciating that he became nauseous while trying to walk back to the locker room and had to sit down before taking cart.”
However, Poyer was confident that he’d be able to start when the Bills took on the reigning Super Bowl champs at SoFi Stadium on September 8. “I expect to be out there, as long as there’s no setbacks,” Poyer said on August 29. “It feels really good right now, I’ll continue to work every single day to try to get to 100% for the first game.
Jordan Poyer is #GoodAtFootball
The veteran safety was more than ready to go in Week 1. He helped the defense keep the Rams to just 243 yards, their fewest in a game with quarterback Matthew Stafford at the helm, per CBS Sports HQ. Poyer recorded two solo tackles and caught an interception early in the fourth quarter.
Last season Poyer recorded 93 tackles, a career-high three sacks, and five interceptions.
Poyer Is One of Several Players With an Expiring Contract This Season
GettyGeneral Manager Brandon Beane of the Buffalo Bills waves to fans prior to a preseason game against the Indianapolis Colts at Highmark Stadium on August 13, 2022 in Orchard Park, New York.
The problem with the Bills having so many good players is that they can’t afford to offer a meaningful extension to everyone with an expiring contract this season, a list that includes Poyer, Devin Singeltary, 24, and Tremaine Edmunds, 24.
Bills general manager Brandon Beane has some tough decisions before next season, especially since quarterback Josh Allen’s salary comes with a $39.7 million cap hit in 2023, per Spotrac.com, Stefon Diggs’ new extension comes with an approximately $20.3 million hit, and Von Miller’s deal depletes another $18.7 million.
The Bills preemptively picked up Ed Oliver’s fifth-year option in April, which locked the 24-year-old defensive tackle through the 2023 NFL season and included a $7 million raise in salary. And then one day before the season opener, the team offered tight end Dawson Knox, a four-year, $53 million extension, which doesn’t bode well for Poyer’s future in Buffalo.
So with MORE money spent on Dawson Knox… what message does that send to Jordan Poyer?
Back in April, Beane strongly insinuated that giving Poyer what he wants may not be possible, as reported by The Athletic‘s Joe Buscaglia:
I want to pay ’em all — the ones that deserve it and have earned it. There’s other guys here that I feel have earned it as well, and want to do it. There’s guys that have left here since I’ve been here that I’ve wanted to pay, or our organization has wanted to pay, but you can’t pay them all, to the point of your question. And that’s hard because I’m a people person. I love these guys and love ’em to death, but I also have a job to do and have rules to follow. From a cap standpoint and cash. Unfortunately, you have to say goodbye to some.