The Buffalo Bills are playing a game of musical chairs in their secondary after a surprise addition this week, and veteran Ja’Marcus Ingram is the one left standing.
The Bills announced on Wednesday that they parted ways with Ingram, clearing up the roster spot that was used to claim cornerback Darius Slay off waivers. Ingram had grown from a practice squad role into a regular, though he fell to the bottom of the depth chart at cornerback this season and played mostly on special teams.
Ingram does have a chance to return to the Bills should he revert to his original role on the practice squad.
Bills Needed Roster Space
Just days after they lost to the Buffalo Bills, the Steelers announced that they were waiving Slay in a move that came as a surprise to many. Though the Philadelphia Eagles put in a waiver claim to reunite with their former cornerback, the Bills put in their own claim and beat out the Eagles with a higher priority.
The Bills waived Ingram to create the roster spot needed to add Slay to the active roster. Ingram had appeared in seven games this season but had a light role, playing in 63 total defensive snaps and 76 special teams snaps. He was regularly a healthy scratch on game days.
The former University of Buffalo standout came to the Bills as an undrafted free agent in 2022, spending most of the next two seasons on the practice squad. He moved into a regular role last season, appearing in all 17 games with one start and making 24 total tackles with two interceptions, including one he returned for a touchdown.
Ingram didn’t have a big role this year after the Bills brought back veteran cornerback Tre’Davious White and used a first-round draft pick on corner Maxwell Hairston.
If Ingram should clear waivers this week, he could potentially return to Buffalo’s practice squad. If he does, the team would be able to elevate him to the gameday roster three times.
Bills Taking Risk on Darius Slay
The Bills will get a boost from adding Slay, who would likely play in a rotational role. As Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk noted, the Bills are taking a risk that the veteran cornerback will improve the back end of their defense.
“The Steelers signed Slay to a one-year, $10 million contract at the start of free agency in March, thinking heâd be a major addition to their defense,” Smith wrote. “Instead, heâs been a major disappointment. His contract was structured to have a big signing bonus ($8.74 million) but a low base salary ($1.255 million) and that means the Bills only owe him about $350,000 for the balance of this seasonâs base salary.”
Though the Bills struck out at the recently passed trade deadline, they have made some midseason additions to their roster. They signed wide receiver Mecole Hardman, though he was placed on injured reserve after his first game. The team also signed veteran receiver Brandin Cooks after he was granted a release from the New Orleans Saints.
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