'Very Special': Ex Rams DB Taylor Rapp Explains Bills Signing
Leaving the place where your NFL career began is never an easy decision.
Especially when you've had the kind of success that former Los Angeles Rams safety Taylor Rapp had in his four years with the franchise.
However, despite that success, the opportunity to sign with a contender like the Buffalo Bills felt like a no-brainer for Rapp.
“Obviously, this is a very special team," Rapp said Friday. "A very special defense and a very special back seven, especially the guys I’ll be joining in the room with Micah (Hyde) and Jordan (Poyer), two great players."
After four steady years in LA and winning a Super Bowl ring in 2021, Rapp signed a one-year deal with the Bills on Monday. He now joins an experienced secondary that might be able to teach him more in his one guaranteed season in Orchard Park than he learned in all four years with the Rams.
The opportunity to join a group that features the aforementioned Hyde and Poyer along with cornerback Tre'Davious White doesn't happen often, and it's something that Rapp clearly recognizes. It seems to have played a major part in his decision to head across the country to the Northeast.
“Just a great opportunity to come in here and contribute any way I can and just pick their brains and learn and soak up as much about the game as I can," he said.
Rapp certainly brings valuable experience of his own. In four NFL seasons and 57 career games, he's posted 330 total tackles, 1.5 sacks, one forced fumble, three fumble recoveries, 23 passes defended, nine interceptions and one touchdown.
Adding this résumé to a veteran group seems like a similarly easy decision from the Bills' point of view, though the process was a patient one for Rapp.
“Definitely a lot of patience required throughout the whole process,” Rapp said. “Everyone’s free-agent process is a little different and unique. But ultimately, I ended up in the right situation and the right opportunity and best fit for myself, my family and my future.”
But now that he's in the "right situation," Rapp can begin the process of proving to Bills Mafia that's he more than just an offseason addition to provide depth. Don't be surprised to hear his name called early and often for good reasons this fall, especially if he's already been taking notes from the veterans around him.
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