'This is Business!' Bills Jordan Poyer Gets Candid on Injuries, Free Agency
Buffalo Bills safety Jordan Poyer is setting the record straight on his injury-riddled, yet productive 2022 season.
He is also not shying away from addressing his impending free agency.
While many continue to speculate on whether the highly-decorated defensive back has played his final game in Western New York, Poyer was quite candid regarding his health and his future during a Friday interview with The Buffalo News.
“I feel extremely blessed and fortunate that I don't have to have any surgeries,” Poyer said, as transcribed by TBN’s Jay Skurski. “Is there going to be a little rehab, a little maintenance? Yes, but I know my body. I know myself. I know how to handle the offseason and by the start of next season, I'll be ready to go.”
Despite his setbacks, Poyer is still considered among the NFL’s elite safeties. He finished the season having logged 63 total tackles, eight passes-defensed, four interceptions and one forced fumble.In Week 4, Poyer had two interceptions, six tackles, and six passes defensed in a 23-20 win over the Baltimore Ravens, earning AFC Defensive Player of the Week. Still, his output will be overshadowed by elbow, knee and ribs injuries, which kept him for reaching his full potential.
Now, he is taking the time he needs to heal.
“Yeah, I'm fine. Been hurting all season. Just need some time to decompress and get my body right,” Poyer said. “That's my main goal this offseason, is getting my body right and being able to play 17 games next year. I feel great now. I just needed some time. There were probably a couple of those games that I definitely should not have been playing in, but just trying to play for my teammates, for my team.”
Poyer also addressed the head injury which kept him from finishing Buffalo’s 27-10 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in the Divisional Round of the playoffs. While he is mindful of the sensitivity surrounding the NFL’s concussion protocol, his response leaves some room to wonder whether he agreed with the assessment.
“They wouldn't let me come back in the game because I didn't pass the concussion protocols. Those concussion protocols are ... whatever, but I'm fine.”
After six seasons in Buffalo, Poyer is headed for unrestricted free agency at the start of the league year in March. Though he cites “unfinished business” as a reason for which he would like to return to the Bills, he is mindful of the nature of the business side of football.
On that basis, Poyer appears to be physically healthy and emotionally ready to continue his stellar career in 2023 - whether it be in Buffalo or anywhere else.
“This is a business,” Poyer pointedly told TBN. “I've made plenty of lifelong friends over the last six years I've had in Buffalo. Yes, do I think there is unfinished business to be handled in Buffalo? Of course. At the same time, there is unfinished business in my life that needs to be handled as well. My family comes first. What's important to me moving forward is what's going to be best for my family and myself.”
Follow Mike D’Abate on Twitter @mdabateNFL.
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