Report: Bills trade with AFC East rival to acquire young special teams returner

The Buffalo Bills have reportedly acquired defensive back/special teams returner Brandon Codrington from the New York Jets.

Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

The Buffalo Bills have acquired defensive back/special teams returner Brandon Codrington from the New York Jets, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. The trade includes a late pick-swap in 2026.

AFC East trade: The #Bills have traded for #Jets DB and returner Brandon Codrington, per me and @TomPelissero. It’s for a swap of late 2026 picks.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 27, 2024

Codrington signed with the Jets after going unselected in the 2024 NFL Draft, this after a four-year stint at Divison 1 FCS school North Carolina Central in which the 5-foot-9 defender totaled 93 total tackles and 10 pass deflections. He was an electric special teams returner in Durham, returning 69 kicks for 1,359 yards and 61 punts for 789 yards throughout his collegiate career. He averaged nearly 20 yards per kick return and nearly 13 yards per punt return, taking four total kicks back to the house.

He signed with the Jets after trying out at their May rookie minicamp, taking 76 defensive snaps throughout the preseason (71 of which were at slot cornerback). He returned two kicks for 71 yards and six punts for 89 yards throughout the ramp-up stretch, breaking off a 63-yard kick return in New York’s Week 2 preseason clash with the Carolina Panthers

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.@Bsteel80 TOOK OFF 💨💨💨

📺 #NYJvsCAR on CBS & @paramountplus pic.twitter.com/5OM20DDj4N

— New York Jets (@nyjets) August 18, 2024

The reported acquisition of Codrington leaves the roster status of rookie cornerback Daequan Hardy a bit uncertain. The Bills selected the former Penn State Nittany Lion in the sixth round of the 2024 NFL Draft to compete for its special teams returner job, pitting him against K.J. Hamler for the post throughout the summer. It looked as though he had won the role late in the preseason, an idea that gained a bit more credence after Hamler was reportedly released on Tuesday; that said, Hardy did flash as a boundary corner throughout the preseason, so the team may like his defensive upside regardless of Codrington’s presence. 

NFL clubs must have their rosters down to 53 players by 4:00 p.m. Tuesday.

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