One Position Bills' GM Brandon Beane Needs to Upgrade And How He Should Do It

The Buffalo Bills made a low-key defensive signing on Thursday morning, adding linebacker Otis Reese to the 90-man roster.

While the Bills needed another body at linebacker due to placing Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles on Injured Reserve, the move they should have made involves adding proven experience to the secondary.

Buffalo, which was missing a key cornerback in each of its last three playoff losses, has little insurance behind its top-three outside cornerbacks. No offense to undrafted rookie Kani Walker, but the Bills can't afford that big of a risk at CB4.

The unit also lacks valuable experience as Maxwell Hairston and rookie Davison Igbinosun, who are battling for the second starting spot, have a combined 11 NFL games under their belts.

Especially considering the high injury rate that exists in general, Bills' general manager Brandon Beane needs to make a call to someone already in his contacts. It's time for Buffalo to bring back grizzled veteran cornerback Tre'Davious White.

The 31-year-old White remains unsigned after a productive 2025 campaign with the Bills. Presuming the former first-round draft pick is willing to play on a near-minimum contract, the reunion makes too much sense to not happen.

Dec 21, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Buffalo Bills cornerback Tre'Davious White (27) breaks up the pass to Cleveland Browns tight end Brenden Bates (82) | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Why hasn't it happened yet?

Quite frankly, the potential move is something we expected to see this past offseason, especially after hearing defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard talk about the importance of cornerback options.

"You need more starters in a secondary. You can never have enough guys who can cover," said Leonhard back in the spring.

White proved last year that he can still be that starter. Initially signed as veteran reinforcement, he wound up making 16 starts with Hairston beginning his rookie campaign on IR.

As we noted in an earlier story on the topic, White limited opposing receivers to 5.3 yards per target while logging 701 defensive snaps. Passes thrown his way were completed only 51.1 percent of the time.

Although it seems unlikely considering his affinity for the organization, White may be waiting on other opportunities to materialize.

While the Bills have the salary cap space for a veteran minimum addition that costs a little more than $1.2 million, there's the chance that Beane may be thinking long-term financially. If Buffalo waits until after Week 1 to sign White, it would not be required to fully guarantee his veteran contract.

On the contrary, one would think Bills would want White in building as soon as possible to gain comfort in the new system under a first-year defensive coordinator.

When the Bills leave St. John Fisher University and return to Orchard Park for the remainder of the summer on Saturday, White should be there waiting.

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