The Buffalo Bills have taken some big hits to their secondary in the last few weeks, but now could have the chance to make a veteran addition.
The Bills saw starting safety Taylor Rapp go down with what is expected to be a season-ending injury, a setback that came after reserve Damar Hamlin was already placed on injured reserve. The team has turned to veteran Jordan Poyer for help, but SI.com analyst Mike Moraitis believes the Bills could find more help after a surprise release this week.
Bills Have Opportunity to Help Secondary
The Tennessee Titans this week released veteran safety Quandre Diggs, who had requested his release and hit waivers. Moraitis noted that the Titans are shifting into rebuild mode and will turn to their younger players, giving Diggs the chance to land with a contending team.
“The Titans are clearly rebuilding and it’s very possible they wanted to clear the way for their younger players by removing someone who wasn’t going to be in the team’s long-term plans,” Moraitis wrote, adding, “Diggs’ coverage numbers haven’t been good this season, with the veteran giving up a completion rate of 69.2% and a passer rating of 148.4.
“But Pro Football Focus lists Diggs with run defense and coverage grades of 64.7 and 64.4, respectively, so he hasn’t been bad to the point that the Bills shouldn’t consider putting in a claim for him.”
Moraitis noted that the 11-year veteran Diggs has a higher coverage grade than Bills rookie Jordan Hancock and would be a cost-controlled addition, with just a $1.19 million cap number.
“At worst, Diggs would amount to an excellent third safety in the rotation, and at best he could become a quality starter at safety for the Bills’ banged-up defense that could use more experience on the back end,” Moraitis wrote.
Bills Come Up Empty-Handed at NFL Trade Deadline
Diggs could be a consolation prize for the Bills after striking out at this week’s NFL trade deadline. General manager Brandon Beane said the team was active in seeking help, but hit a wall when it came to finding willing trade partners.
“Unfortunately, it takes two to tango and we tried on quite a few,” Beane said, via USA Today’s Bills Wire. “And a lot was just, yeah, we’re not moving, and some was, we ran into a couple teams in our division were trading and couldn’t get a lot of interest there.”
Beane added that it would have been prohibitively costly for the Bills to make any additions.
“Candidly, I would have lost money [Tuesday] on the Bills doing a move,” Beane said.
While the secondary was not seen as the highest priority ahead of the trade deadline, many analysts expected the Bills to seek help on their injury-struck defensive line or with another receiver for quarterback Josh Allen. Reports indicated that the Bills had interest in several receivers and made calls to other teams, but weren’t able to progress on any deals.
Despite the lack of additions, Beane stressed that the team is content with the roster that has pushed them to 6-2 this season.
âI do believe we can win a championship with this roster,â Beane told reporters.
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