The Buffalo Bills must feel pretty good about what they have at the safety position in 2026 — moves like this seem to indicate they do for now, at least.
“Sources: The Bills are releasing veteran S Geno Stone today,” NFL insider Jordan Schultz wrote on his official X account on Sunday morning. “Stone signed with Buffalo this offseason and has 14 career INTs and 21 PBUs. A return to the practice squad is possible, but he’ll explore the market first.”
All 32 NFL teams must have their final 53-man rosters turned in by Sunday evening.
Stone, 27, started all 17 games each of the last 2 seasons for the Cincinnati Bengals and signed a 1-year, $1.4 million free-agent contract with the Bills on March 16 — he has approximately $17 million in career earnings over his 1st 6 seasons.
“A couple of notable former Bengals moves,” The Athletic’s Paul Dehner Jr. wrote on his official X account on Sunday. “Bucs let go of Jake Browning after Jalon Daniels beat him out for the backup QB job. Also, Buffalo released safety Geno Stone, who started every game for the Bengals the last two seasons.”
“Training camp ends meaning little-to-nothing probably 90% of the time, but in this case I think Geno Stone straight up played his way off the Bills at camp,” Talking Buffalo’s Patrick Moran wrote on his official X account on Sunday morning. “He went from very likely the third safety on July 29th to not making the roster. It was a rough summer.”
Geno Stone Became Elite Starter for Ravens
There’s a really good chance Stone doesn’t make it back to the practice squad — no matter how poorly he may have played in the preseason.
Stone, 5-foot-11 and 207 pounds, was a 7th-round pick by the Baltimore Ravens in the 2020 NFL Draft after earning All-Big Ten honors at the University of Iowa.
Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta called Stone the “best 7th-round pick in Ravens history” — the year he became a full-time starter for the 1st time and finished with an incredible 7 interceptions.
Bengals Handed Stone Lucrative Payday in 2024
Stone signed a 2-year, $14 million free-agent contract with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2024 and started every regular-season game over the last 2 seasons.
In 2 seasons in Cincinnati, Stone racked up 185 tackles, 6 interceptions, and 10 pass deflections, including a career-high 104 tackles in 2025.
Despite those respectable numbers, Pro Football Focus ranked Stone as 1 of the NFL’s worst safeties — his overall grade of 54.3 in 2025 put him 81st out of 98 eligible players at his position.
Buffalo Bills Release $17 Million Free-Agent Signee & 17-Game Starter