The Buffalo Bills are constantly tweaking the bottom of their roster, and this week parted ways with an athletic and promising cornerback to make way for help on another level of the defense.
The team announced this week that they released second-year defensive back Jalen Kimber, who had been on the practice squad since late August. Kimber spent time with the Tennessee Titans last season after going undrafted and was looking for a chance in Buffalo, but had fallen to the bottom of the depth chart in the secondary and now must look for a new home.
Jalen Kimber Earned Praise After College
Though he didn’t hear his name called in the 2024 NFL Draft, Kimber was seen as a top undrafted free agent and quickly found a home with the Titans. Draft expert Lance Zierlein of NFL.com predicted that Kimber had some traits needed to be a regular NFL player, though would need to smooth out some of the rougher parts of his game.
He noted that Kimber was an “athletic” prospect with some big attributes.
“Kimber has good size and impressive timed speed on paper, but his long speed tends to be more build-up than sudden,” Zierlein wrote. “He has agile, quick feet and is fairly athletic in coverage, but he’s lacking the necessary instincts to make more plays on the football. His tackling improved in 2024, but he’s missing the play strength and toughness in run support that NFL teams want to see.
The Bills snatched up Kimber in late August after he was released by the Titans. He remained on the practice squad through the first three games of the season and did not earn a call-up to the active roster despite some injuries to the secondary.
The Bills have already used the roster spot they opened by releasing Kimber, signing linebacker Otis Reese IV.
Bills Hoping to Get Rookie Cornerback Back Soon
The Bills have still been waiting to see another promising young cornerback hit the field for the first time. First-round pick Maxwell Hairston was injured during training camp and placed on injured reserve to start the season.
Hairson will be eligible to return starting after this week’s game against the New Orleans Saints, but head coach Sean McDermott has tempered expectations for the rookie. McDermott said the team is keeping Hairston’s goals simple for now — just get back to practice first.
“Right now, it’s lowering expectations and managing them. Just taking it one day at a time. Seeing when, and if, he can come back,” McDermott told reporters on Wednesday.
McDermott said the team wouldn’t be able to evaluate his readiness to play until they can actually see him in action.
“I don’t want to cast doubt on the situation, but you just still never know, until a player’s back. It’s somewhat of a unique injury a little bit. The information I’m getting is we’re still taking it one day at a time,” said McDermott. “Like anything else, there’s a lot of unknowns, and that’s really where we’re at. We’re really trying to control what we can, and I know he is as well.”
Bills Part Ways With ‘Athletic’ CB Just Three Games Into the Season