Buffalo Bills could steal intriguing defender from Patriots

The Buffalo Bills could look to steal a New England Patriots' defender in NFL free agency.

Dec 1, 2024; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots cornerback Jonathan Jones (31) warms up before a game against the Indianapolis Colts at Gillette Stadium. / Eric Canha-Imagn Images

Heading into the NFL offseason, there are quite a few needs for the Buffalo Bills to address. They could use another offensive playmaker, but a lot of their needs come on the defensive side of the football.

One of the biggest needs will be to bring in more help at the cornerback position.

During the 2024 season, there were clear holes in the Bills' secondary. Rasul Douglas is set to hit free agency and seems likely to end up leaving Buffalo. The front office will need to replace him and add talent on top of whoever they bring in to replace Douglas.

With that in mind, an intriguing cornerback from an AFC East rival could make a lot of sense.

Nov 17, 2024; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots cornerback Jonathan Jones (31) warms up before a game against the Los Angeles Rams at Gillette Stadium. / Eric Canha-Imagn Images

Brandon Ray of BuffaLowDown has suggested that the Bills could look to steal Jonathan Jones from the New England Patriots.

"We won’t lie, it was a little bit of a rough 2024 for Jonathan Jones. He gave up seven touchdowns and hasn’t recorded an interception in two seasons," Ray wrote.

"There’s no excusing Jones’ performance last season, but the Patriots overall were a mess. There was no identity and they had no pass rush to help out the secondary. Depending on whether or not Jones goes back to the Patriots, he would at least be a solid veteran to provide competition for training camp and push the younger guys to step up."

Jones would not be the fix to Buffalo's issues at cornerback. However, he could help plug the hole, assuming the Bills went out and added another better defensive back as well.

During the 2024 NFL season with the Patriots, Jones ended up playing in 17 games. He racked up 58 total tackles to go along with two forced fumbles and six defended passes.

At 31 years old, he would be a cheaper free agency target for Buffalo. Again, there would need to be more moves at the cornerback position, but Jones would be worth taking a flier on.

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