Bills offseason position spotlight: Cornerback
Maintaining or improving the quality of the Buffalo Bills' cornerbacks from 2020 to 2021 will not necessarily be high on the list of general manager Brandon Beane's priorities this coming offseason.
However, there likely will be a good deal of shuffling at this position group leading up to their first game they'll play as defending AFC East champions in September.
Here's how the Bills stack up at cornerback as we begin the first in an offseason series of detailed looks at each group and attempt to project the direction the team is heading:
Tre'Davious White
The 2017 first-round pick is their highest-paid defensive player and signed a four-year, $69 million contract extension last September, before leading the Bills with three interceptions and 11 pass breakups and making the Pro Bowl for a second straight year.
So he isn't going anywhere.
Taron Johnson
The hero of their 17-3 playoff victory over Baltimore also isn't going anywhere. That's because the 2018 fourth-round pick also is approaching or is at his athletic peak. And even with his salary spiking to $2.3 million in the final year of his rookie contract, he comes at a relatively low cost.
Johnson became eligible for an extension at the end of this season, so it will be interesting to see if the Bills try to lock him in or seek his eventual replacement in this year's or next year's draft.
The rest
This is where it starts to get complicated.
Levi Wallace and 33-year-old Josh Norman both contributed in 2020 but have expiring contracts. And because the Bills, as everyone knows by now, don't have a lot of cap flexibility, they might be on their way out.
Cam Lewis, who wound up on injured reserve after just five games, remains under contract for 2021, but his $780,000 salary is not guaranteed, meaning they would get 100 percent of that back in cap space if he leaves.
Same for Siran Neal and the nearly $1 million they could save if he's cut or traded. He's been mostly a special-teams player.
Dane Jackson is signed to a futures contract and is expected to compete for a roster spot.
The Bills on Friday waived E.J. Gaines, who had opted out of the 2020 season, clearing $850,000 for 2021.
So clearly there will be some moves to bolster this group.
Don't even rule out the Bills using their first-round pick (No. 30 overall) on a cornerback.
If that's the case, keep an eye on Clemson's Derion Kendrick and South Carolina's Jaycee Horn. Prospects like Alabama's Patrick Surtain and Virginia Tech's Caleb Farley also are first-round prospects but likely to be off the board by the time the Bills pick.
Another name to keep in mind: Washington's Keith Taylor Jr., who really opened eyes at the Senior Bowl.
"I don't know that I remember a better game from a corner in an all-star game than what Taylor Jr.'s done today," NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah said during the broadcast. "He's been outstanding. He's just been in position every time."
Taylor would likely be a second- or third-day pick.
Nick Fierro is the publisher of Bills Central. Check out the latest Bills news at www.si.com/nfl/bills and follow Fierro on Twitter at @NickFierro.
