Bills Still Unsettled at Cornerback, but Plenty of Time and Options Remain
After all the additions and subtractions the Buffalo Bills have made to their roster this offseason, a reasonable argument can be made that they have more firepower now than they did before free agency began.
Except at one position: cornerback.
No matter how the Bills feel about the ability of Dane Jackson to step in for Levi Wallace, who signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers as an unrestricted free agent, cornerback is the one position group they haven't at least tried to improve.
That doesn't mean they don't have a plan. And it certainly doesn't mean they're running out of time. General manager Brandon Beane pointed during the NFL Meetings this week that the Bills won't play another meaningful game until September.
Meaning now is no time to panic.
"My main focus right now is just the [NFL] Draft," Beane said. "We're out of money, unless you guys have some here. So yeah, other than that, I mean, we'll always look. We're always looking. After the draft, we'll be looking. Like, you know, we're never satisfied.
"We've got a lot of positions that I still want to get more depth. We're not just waking up every day, going `where's the corner?' We're looking everywhere, and we've got a lot of time. We don't play games until September, so it's my job to make sure we have the roster ready by then."
Because by then, maybe the Bills will have procured a top-flight cornerback or two in the Draft.
Because by then, maybe some free agents who are more than capable of helping this squad right away will still be available, only with reduced price tags after perhaps discovering the market is not what they thought it would be this offseason.
Because by then, they'll also have a clearer picture of the state of Tre'Davious White's surgically repaired knee and how close he is to getting back to the level he needs to be, leading to a clearer picture of what they'll need to do in the interim.
In the meantime, plenty of free-agent options remain, including former Bills' first-round pick Stephon Gilmore and former Steelers cornerback Joe Haden, who was essentially replaced by Wallace.
All of the best names, which also include Richard Sherman, Josh Norman and Jason McCourty, are over 30 years old, but we're not necessarily talking about any long-term commitments here, either.
Besides, picking up a veteran to start on the outside opposite White may not necessarily be the best option. When the Bills drafted White in the first round in 2017, he started right away, played at a high level right away and has been a fixture in their secondary along with Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer ever since.
So there's no rush to fill the position that requires the most speed. The Bills have plenty of time.
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. Email to Nicky300@aol.com.
