The Buffalo Bills hosted a pair of cornerbacks for tryouts Monday afternoon ahead of a potentially AFC East clinching battle with the New England Patriots Sunday afternoon.
The first cornerback is DJ James.
James was a sixth-round selection by the Seattle Seahawks in 2024. The defensive back did not survive his full rookie season with the Seahawks and eventually found his way to Foxboro, where he played on the Patriots’ practice squad.
He remains in Foxboro to this day as a member of New England’s 17-man practice team. He has earned just one active roster elevation so far this season, coming in New England’s Week 1 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders.
James is a six-foot Mobile, Alabama, native who played three seasons of college football with the Oregon Ducks before transferring to Auburn. He ran a 4.42 forty-yard dash at the NFL Combine.
MJ Devonshire Also Received A Tryout
The second cornerback hosted on Monday afternoon was MJ Devonshire.
Also a member of the 2024 draft class, Devonshire went in the seventh round to the Las Vegas Raiders.
A native of the football-famous town of Aliquippa, PA, Devonshire began his college career down south playing for the Kentucky Wildcats before transferring back to Pennsylvania and finishing his eligibility with the Pittsburgh Panthers.
Like James, Devonshire is a fleet-footed corner who ran a 4.45 forty at the combine.
He is much shorter than James, however, measuring in at a touch over five-foot-ten and weighing a hair over 180 pounds.
Devonshire recorded three interceptions in his redshirt junior season and four interceptions in his final year with Pitt. He returned three of those seven for touchdowns.
He spent his rookie season on the Raiders’ practice squad but was not re-signed by the new staff in Vegas.
He is currently on the Baltimore Ravens practice squad and has yet to make his NFL debut.
Bills Cornerback Depth
Defensive back depth in Buffalo remains a problem even after the signing of former first-round draft pick Darnell Savage.
It was cornerback-by-committee in Sunday’s 39-34 slugfest win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
Eight defensive backs saw the field as the Bills tried to answer Joe Burrow’s passing attack.
Christian Benford and Cam Lewis each played all but one snap for Buffalo’s defense, while safeties Jordan Poyer and Cole Bishop recorded about a 75% snap share each.
Veteran Tre’Davious White saw the next most playing time, seeing the field on 60% of plays.
The trio of Cam Lewis, Maxwell Hairston, and Jordan Hancock also received some package work, but none of the three played more than 25 snaps for the winning Bills.
Monday’s tryouts were just the latest step in what has been a season-long battle to field a healthy defensive backfield in Buffalo.
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