The Buffalo Bills made uncharacteristically major alterations to their defensive backfield in the offseason, parting ways with stalwart safeties Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer. The two had expertly manned the top of Buffalo’s defense since the 2017 season, combining for 202 starts, three All-Pro nods, and two Pro Bowls throughout their seven years with the club.

The Bills, thus, find themselves in need of two new starters at the position; Taylor Rapp, who played on nearly 40% of the team’s defensive snaps last season, figures to slot into one safety spot while the other starter will be determined through an ongoing training camp battle. Fourth-year defender Damar Hamlin, free agent signee Mike Edwards, and second-round draft pick Cole Bishop are the competition’s participants, with all three seeing first-team reps throughout the first three days of camp.

Buffalo’s 2024 safety tandem, regardless of how it shakes out, won’t necessarily be inexperienced (as Rapp, Edwards, and Hamlin all have some starting experience), but it will be unproven. Bleacher Report’s Alex Ballentine feels as though the team should insert another name into the competition, proposing that the Bills swing a deal for Atlanta Falcons safety Richie Grant in a recent article bringing up one trade idea for every NFL club.

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“It might be worth adding another name to the mix before the season, though,” Ballentine wrote. “Targeting someone like Richie Grant could be a low-risk, high-reward play to fill out the room. Grant was a second-round pick in the 2021 draft and has been a starter for the Falcons over the last two seasons, but Jessie Bates III and DeMarcco Hellams could be the starting duo after the latter put together a strong rookie campaign.

“With Grant playing on the final year of his rookie contract, the Falcons might be willing to part with him for a pick. Perhaps playing in Sean McDermott’s defensive system would help him have a breakout season.”

Ballentine proposes that Buffalo trade a sixth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft in exchange for Grant; the Bills currently own two sixth-round selections in next year’s event, their own and that of the New York Giants.

The compensation isn’t significant, and Grant has shown promise throughout his three professional seasons. He’s tallied 261 tackles, 15 pass deflections, and three interceptions since joining the Falcons. That said, he hasn’t quite met the expectations attributed to him as a second-round draft pick, and he’s not the most reliable coverage defender in the world; quarterbacks had a passer rating of 128.9 when throwing at Grant last season, per PFF.

Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott has a penchant for getting strong play out of overlooked defensive backs (look no further than Hyde and Poyer), but acquiring Grant would simply add another body to an already crowded competition. The Bills have several boxes checked with the players already participating in the position battle: Hamlin has significant scheme experience, Edwards brings general league experience and championship pedigree, and Bishop brings youth and immense promise. Grant, 26, would, too, bring upside, but he would also take reps away from those already entrenched in the battle; first-team reps are already being divvied among three players, and adding another body may only muddy the waters.

It’s not a necessarily egregious suggestion, but it doesn’t seem like one that will come to fruition. Buffalo is seemingly happy with the safeties on its roster; if it ultimately determines it needs to add another option, it would likely look to Hyde—who is still a free agent—before it looks to the trade market.  

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