Getty Bills safety Jordan Poyer at Highmark Stadium on November 19, 2023.
The Miami Dolphins saw plenty of Jordan Poyer when he was holding down the back end of the Buffalo Bills‘ secondary for the last seven seasons, and now they could see him in a battle to make their starting lineup.
The veteran safety signed with the Dolphins after being released by the Bills in March and will now compete with fellow free agent pickup Marcus Maye for a starting job in Miami. Adam H. Beasley of Pro Football Network revealed that Poyer will have one of the most “intriguing” position battles as the team heads to training camp next week.
Back-and-Forth Battle in Miami
Beasley wrote that Poyer seemed to have an early inside track to the starting job in the secondary, but lost steam as the team’s practices grew more intense.
“While we cannot divulge team strategy from practices closed to fans, it’s fair to say Jordan Poyer was the clear frontrunner to be the Dolphins’ starting strong safety during spring ball,” Beasley wrote. “However, Miami either didn’t love what it saw in those non-padded practices or was worried that Poyer at age 33 might not be able to make it through a full season.”
The Dolphins then signed Maye, the former Saints safety, in June. Even though Maye earned a one-year deal for $1.4 million, he may have moved ahead of the higher-paid Poyer in the position battle, Beasley wrote.
“Maye heads into camp as the frontrunner to win the starting job despite not yet logging a single practice snap for Miami,” he wrote.
Jordan Poyer Excited for Fresh Start in Miami
Poyer established himself as one of the league’s top safeties during his seven-year tenure in Buffalo, earning a spot on the All-Pro team in 2021. He appeared to be prepared to leave in free agency last season before making a surprise return to Buffalo, but saw a drop in production. Poyer failed to make an interception for the first time since he appeared in just since games in the 2016 season.
Jordan Poyer narrates Dolphins’ end-of-minicamp hype video.
Poyer still played an important leadership role for the Bills, and could do the same in Miami. Teammate Nik Needham said Poyer has been helping the members of the secondary build rapport while helping out the team’s younger players.
“He’s helped tremendously,” Needham said, via SI.com. “I told him he’s one of the coolest dudes I’ve ever met in the league. Our first day, he was super open, wants everyone to learn from him. He’s not trying to act like, ‘I’m the big 12-year vet.’ He’s very open, he has us over for dinner. We haven’t done that as a DB group since I’ve been here. Having that I feel like will create more camaraderie and have us be successful on the field, because we’ll really know each other.”
Poyer said the connections they’re building now will be a big help later on in the season.
“Yeah, I think a lot of success come from just the communication part especially on the back end,” Poyer said. “If you want to be successful you got to know who you’re playing with essentially. You’ve got to know the guys on and off the field. In the fourth quarter, I want to know the guy I’m playing with. I want to know about his family. You learn to trust each other that way. That’s essentially why I’m here. I don’t necessarily have to be, but I want to be.”