Report: Bills to trade or cut veteran safety after release request

The Buffalo Bills are reportedly set to move on from veteran safety Mike Edwards.

Kyle Silagyi | 4 Hours Ago

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

In this story:

Buffalo Bills | News, Scores, Schedules & Standings

The Buffalo Bills are set to either trade veteran safety Mike Edwards ahead of Tuesday’s 4:00 p.m. trade deadline or release him if a deal cannot be reached, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reports. The reporter notes that the defender asked the team for his release.

Veteran safety Mike Edwards asked for and has been granted his release from the #Bills, barring a trade before today’s deadline, per source.

Edwards has appeared in 78 career games (28 starts) but has been a healthy scratch most of this season. Now free to sign elsewhere. pic.twitter.com/5A6o4z8FZ4
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) November 5, 2024

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported last week that both Buffalo and Edwards were open to a trade, as the 28-year-old would like to see regular playing time; he’s appeared on only seven defensive snaps thus far this season.

Edwards, a two-time Super Bowl champion who had started 28 career games entering the 2024 campaign, signed a one-year deal with the Bills in March after the team revamped its defensive backfield. Stalwarts Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer, who combined for 202 starts over their seven years in Orchard Park, were shown the exit door in the spring, prompting Buffalo to sign Edwards to provide some veteran insurance.

Though he missed the majority of OTAs with a shoulder injury, the 28-year-old entered training camp in a three-way competition with Damar Hamlin and rookie Cole Bishop to earn a starting job in the Bills’ secondary. He quickly picked up a hamstring injury that again kept him off the field and prevented him from properly acclimating to the defense; by the time he was healthy, Hamlin had secured a healthy hold on a starting safety role alongside Taylor Rapp.

Once viewed as a potential starter, Edwards is now Buffalo’s fourth-choice safety and is, thus, often an inactive. He’s been left off the gameday roster for six of the Bills’ nine games thus far this year. The defender has a base salary of just $225,000, per OverTheCap, and is, thus, a digestible acquisition for most clubs should any team feel inclined to give up an asset for him.

— Enjoy free coverage of the Bills from Buffalo Bills on SI —