Some Cornerbacks the Bills Still may Target in Free Agency

Brandon Beane last week said he's out of money, hinting strongly that his Buffalo Bills have completed most or all of their work in free agency without signing a cornerback and now have turned their focus to the NFL Draft coming up at the end of this month. But what the Bills' general manager says and what he winds up doing aren't always the same.

Technically, what Beane said was correct. The Bills as of Sunday evening are just $286,626 under the 2022 NFL salary cap.

Similar situations have been overcome before, however, by adjusting the contracts of some players and letting others go before their contracts are up.

The second part of that solution likely is out of the equation now that there's no more high-priced players on the roster they should consider dumping, like they've already done with guards Daryl Williams and Jon Feliciano, wide receiver Cole Beasley, linebacker A.J. Klein and defensive tackle Star Lotulelei.

Moving money around still is an option. In fact, it has to be, or the Bills won't even be able to sign their draft picks or the college players they add after their draft to bring their roster to the offseason limit of 90.

Everyone expects them to be selecting a corner on the first or second day of the Draft or both. After all, they have dangerously little starting experience beyond Tre'Davious White, Taron Johnson and Dane Jackson — and White is coming off a wrecked ACL suffered less than four full months ago.

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So in the meantime, here are some veterans who remain on the market who could be more capable of stepping in and playing at a high level right away than any rookie.

Stephon Gilmore

He played five seasons for the Bills after they drafted him in the first round iin 2012, but most of the damage he's done in his career was as a member of the New England Patriots, with whom he made three Pro Bowls and twice was an All-Pro in four seasons.

The Bills are reportedly interested, according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler.

The #Eagles, #Chiefs and #Bills are interested in signing free-agent CB Stephon Gilmore, according to ESPN pic.twitter.com/s0GjcXdTPr
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) April 3, 2022

This means that even at age 31, he could be priced out of their range.

Still, it can't hurt to dream about a corner with five Pro Bowl berths and 27 interceptions in 125 regular-season starts and a Super Bowl ring.

Kyle Fuller

Like Gilmore, he probably would come at too high a cost. The 30-year-old is a former All-Pro and led the league with seven interceptions in 2018.

The caveat? Last season was the first in which he failed to get an interception

Xavier Rhodes

Rhodes will turn 32 in June, but he's played at a high level for a long time and has started every game he's played since the beginning of this second year.

He has made three Pro Bowls and an All-Pro team. And he's relatively tall (6-1) for his position. That's always a plus.

Steven Nelson

Despite an anemic pass rush by his Philadelphia Eagles teammates last year, Nelson had a decent season playing in their almost exclusively zone coverage schemes. That could make him a better fit for a team that now has Von Miller rushing the passer and features the finest safety tandem in the league.

Joe Haden

The Pittsburgh Steelers opted to go for a lesser-priced player in free agency rather than pay Haden, who will turn 33 this month, again. That player was former Bills starter Levi Wallace.

So Haden likely would only be an option if the Bills can get him at a below-market deal, which also would feature one heck of a bold stroke of irony, considering how much more accomplished he is than Wallace.

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Nick Fierro is the publisher of Bills Central. Check out the latest Bills news at www.si.com/nfl/bills and follow Fierro on Twitter at @NickFierro. Email to Nicky300@aol.com.

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