'Questioned' Cole Bishop giving Buffalo Bills what 'we need'

He's been far from fantastic, but there are enough positive signs coming out of September.

First, and foremost, Buffalo Bills' second-year safety Cole Bishop has been 100 percent available through the first four weeks of the regular season. It's notable for a player who has missed significant developmental time each of the past two summers.

Bishop, a 2024 second-round draft pick, has played a team-high 225 defensive snaps during the Bills' 4-0 start.

While he's had some misses early on this season, the athletic defensive back delivered a key hit late in the first half against the New Orleans Saints on September 28. With the Saints threatening to erase a 14-10 deficit, and under 2:00 remaining in the second quarter, Bishop snuffed out a Philly Special attempt and made an acrobatic interception of a Chris Olave pass.

It was a good time for Bishop's first career interception as it denied New Orleans the chance to double dip with the Saints set to receive the third-quarter kickoff.

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"It was just great to see him make a play like that," said head coach Sean McDermott on Monday in Orchard Park. "That was a big time play and a big time moment of the game, and those are the plays, quite honestly, we need to be made, and he made it."

One-handed INT as your first NFL interception, you dawg. 😮‍💨#GoBills | #BillsMafia pic.twitter.com/1YFFIPJSa5
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) September 29, 2025

He made five tackles in addition to the points-saving interception over 66 defensive snaps in the Week 4 win, which was his 20th career regular season appearance.

It was another step forward for Bishop, who faced questions about his readiness to start after missing two weeks of training camp practice due to a quad injury.

"Cole's play has ratcheted up each week, preseason and now in the regular season. So, still a lot of the journey ahead of him in this young career that he's in," said McDermott.

Although it may have taken a bit longer than some had hoped, Bishop appears to be on the right track, and the Bills' defense needs him to keep on trucking.

"When you have a young player that, you guys know it, you've questioned him, and he got off to a little bit of a rocky start, but he has stayed focused and disciplined, and he's worked his butt off," said McDermott.

Sep 18, 2025; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill (10) runs against Buffalo Bills safety Cole Bishop (24) | Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

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