The Buffalo Bills overhauled the secondary after the departure of head coach Sean McDermott, parting ways with starting safety Taylor Rapp alongside a series of other roster moves.
Rapp is still looking for a new job after being picked up and then cut prior to Sunday’s roster deadline, but one analyst suggests he won’t stay on the open market for long. Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox identified the best “bargain” free agents at every position after the roster cutdown deadline, putting Rapp — and another, more recently former Bills safety — on the list.
Taylor Rapp Could Bargain Addition
Knox put Rapp at the top of the list for bargain safeties, noting that he will likely get picked up soon by another team — including a return to his most recent stop. The Denver Broncos parted ways with Rapp earlier this month, saying he needed time to deal with a personal issue.
Knox suggested that Rapp could have a return ticket to Denver waiting once he’s available.
“Safety Taylor Rapp signed with the Broncos in August and may not remain available for long. Head coach Sean Payton told reporters that Rapp was stepping away to attend to a personal matter and is a strong candidate to re-sign in Denver (h/t Zac Stevens of DNVR),” Knox wrote.
“If the Broncos aren’t quick to bring back Rapp, he would be a terrific addition to any defense lacking safety depth. He has made 72 starts while allowing an opposing passer rating of 91.0 in his career, and he has experience at both strong and free safety.”
Rapp started 24 games across three seasons with the Bills, anchoring the back end of the secondary along with fellow safety Cole Bishop. He was released by the Bills early this offseason, part of an overhaul with the hiring of new defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard.
Another Bills Safety Makes the List
Knox added another Bills safety to his list of bargain free agents, roster deadline cut Geno Stone. The Bills brought on Stone along with fellow veteran C.J. Gardner-Johnson in their roster overhaul, but Stone fell behind veteran Damar Hamlin and rookie Jalon Kilgore on the depth chart.
“Geno Stone has also logged snaps at strong and free safety. The former Ravens standout spent the past two seasons in Cincinnati, starting all 34 regular-season games for the Bengals,” Know wrote. “Stone, who is still only 27 years old, tallied a career-high 104 tackles to go with two sacks and two interceptions last season. Nevertheless, the Buffalo Bills released him during roster cuts.”
Former Bills Starting Safety Named Top ‘Bargain’ Free Agent