Getty BYU alum Zayne Anderson #23 signs with the Buffalo Bills after two seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Buffalo Bills are wasting no time beefing up their defense for the 2023 NFL season, making a surprise move on Friday, February 17 to sign former Kansas City Chiefs safety Zayne Anderson. The team announced they were signing the Brigham Young University alum to a two-year contract.
Anderson’s name won’t be familiar to most, as he spent the bulk of his tenure on the Chiefs’ practice squad. However, the 26-year-old defensive back has appeared in seven regular season games, including all three playoff games during the team’s postseason run last year. Anderson played in three games during the 2022 NFL season and earned himself a Super Bowl ring after the Chiefs’ 38-35 win over the Philadelphia Eagles last weekend.
The 6-foot-2, 206-pound safety, who redid his senior with the Cougars three times due to season-ending injuries in both 2018 and 2019, recorded 162 tackles, three interceptions, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, and six passes defended in 50 game appearances during his collegiate career at BYU. He signed with the Chiefs as an undrafted free agent in 2021. During his Pro Day, he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.46 seconds, the short shuttle in 4.22 seconds, and the 3-cone drill in 6.78 seconds, per The Desert News.
Kansas City did not sign him to a reserve/future deal at the end of the 2022 NFL season, per ESPN‘s Alaina Getzenberg, which is why the Bills were able to swoop in and sign him.
Anderson was a three-star recruit in 2015 out of high school in Stansbury Park, Utah, per KSL Sports. Anderson’s agent David Canter celebrated the safety signing with the Bills with a post on Twitter. He tweeted, “Congratulations to @gsefootball client @zayneanderson23 on signing with @BuffaloBills.”
The Bills Have a Lot of Uncertainty at the Safety Position
Bills sign a guy….means I get to update the roster spreadsheet!
The Bills needed to add depth to the safety position as several players may not be returning next season. While All-Pro safety Jordan Poyer’s pending free agency has dominated the headlines, and Damar Hamlin’s future in the NFL remains unclear amid his remarkable recovery, Dean Marlowe and Jaquon Johnson will become unrestricted free agents, while Cam Lewis will be a restricted free agent.
Under the guidance of All-Pro veteran Micah Hyde, who will be fully healthy to start next season, The Athletic‘s Joe Buscaglia suggested the Bills switch cornerback Christian Benford to the safety position next season.
“At safety, he’d have a chance at a starting position either in 2023 or 2024, along with excellent size (6 foot 1, 205 pounds) and athleticism, while learning from one of the best in Hyde,” Buscaglia wrote of Benford. “There is untapped potential here with Benford. Both Hyde and Poyer began their careers as cornerbacks before shifting to safety and flourishing. Benford could be next with the Bills’ coaching.”
GettyChristian Benford #47 of the Buffalo Bills returns an interception against the Minnesota Vikings at Highmark Stadium on November 13, 2022.
Buscaglia also urged to the Bills to pick up a safety in the first four rounds of 2023 the NFL Draft “even if the Bills were to re-sign Poyer to a one-year deal and move Benford to safety… Much like Benford, the drafted safety would have the opportunity to work with Hyde and learn from one of the best free safeties in franchise history. And if Poyer came back, that would be double the opportunity.
“Regardless, the Bills need a plan for life after Hyde and Poyer, which could start in totality after the 2023 season. Safety is also a position where teams don’t need to force a pick in the first round to get a legitimate starting option. Using an earlier selection to build the depth and potentially get a starting option as quickly as 2023 would be a significant addition to their roster.”
The Bills Switched Up Their Safeties Coach
While the bulk of Bills Mafia was hoping to see longtime defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier get the boot after Buffalo was crushed 27-10 by the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Divisional round, the team instead made the move to part ways with safeties coach Jim Salgado, who’d been on head coach Sean McDermott staff since 2017.
Shortly afterward, the Bills announced they were hiring Joe Danna to take Salgado’s role. Danna spent last year with the Houston Texans and has 15 years of experience in the NFL.