Bills elevate veteran safety with two starters questionable to face Lions

The Buffalo Bills may need to rely on a rookie and a 36-year-old call-up to man the safety spots in Detroit.

Ralph Ventre | 3 Hours Ago

Under the watch of Bills head coach Sean McDermott, safety Kareem Jackson falls back into coverage during drills. / Shawn Dowd/Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK

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The Buffalo Bills have elevated a safety from the practice squad, but he isn't Micah Hyde.

On the eve of their December 15 road bout against the one-loss Detroit Lions, the Bills called up veteran safety Kareem Jackson and emergency quarterback Mike White to the Week 15 gameday roster.

Jackson's elevation is seemingly in direct response to the potential unavailability of starting safeties Taylor Rapp and Damar Hamlin, who are both listed as questionable for Sunday.

Practicing in a limited capacity on Friday in Orchard Park, Rapp and Hamlin were both spotted wearing red non-contact jerseys during the portion open to media.

With only three pure safeties on the 53-man roster, the Bills needed to add a backup option alongside second-round rookie Cole Bishop. Buffalo settled on Jackson although there was speculation that veteran Micah Hyde or former first-round draft pick Lewis Cine would be the choice.

Jackson, who has been with the Bills since training camp, has yet to make his Blue & Red debut, but he's far from inexperienced. The 36-year-old defensive back has appeared in 203 NFL regular season games since 2010. He last saw game action for the Houston Texans in their AFC Wildcard win over the Cleveland Browns this past January.

Set to go against a Lions' passing attack that averages 8.06 yards per play (third highest in NFL), the Bills will already be without starting boundary cornerback Rasul Douglas. Reports have suggested that Rapp will join Douglas on the list of inactives, meaning Bishop will likely be forced into his second career start.

As for White, his elevation is likely unrelated to the health of starting quarterback Josh Allen and backup Mitch Trubisky. Buffalo is seemingly rewarding their insurance policy by allowing him to earn an active roster game check.

The Bills (10-3) and the Lions (12-1) meet on Sunday at 4:25 pm ET. The latter will put an 11-game win streak on the line.

Oct 6, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans running back Dare Ogunbowale (33) runs with the ball as Buffalo Bills safety Cole Bishop (24) attempts to make a tackle / Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

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