The Bills are bringing back a familiar face.
The biggest need for the Buffalo Bills is at cornerback and it’s not even close. While general manager Brandon Beane has made some fantastic defensive line signings with the signing of Joey Bosa leading the way, their secondary needs some help outside of the numbers.
This past week, the Bills managed to find a trade partner in the Dallas Cowboys and dealt former first-round pick Kaiir Elam to Dallas in exchange for a couple of draft picks. Outside of Christian Benford and Taron Johnson, the Bills don’t have any top corner talent.
Despite cornerback Rasul Douglas still be out on the market, the Bills have made a move that we could see coming from a mile away. Buffalo has reportedly signed cornerback Dane Jackson to a one-year deal, according to Mike Garafolo.
Dane Jackson returns to Buffalo after brief stint with Carolina Panthers
The Bills drafted Dane Jackson in the 7th round in 2020 out of Pittsburgh. Due to the injury of Tre’Davious White back in 2021, Jackson had an opportunity to get playing time for Buffalo’s secondary. His best year as a pro took place in 2022 where he starte in 14 games, recording double digit pass breakups, 2 interceptions, and 57 total tackles.
Based on these stats, you would think that Jackson could have become a diamond in the rough for the Bills. Instead, he declined in 2023 (only starting in 6 games once the Bills had traded for Rasul Douglas) and the Bills moved on from him, which brought him to Carolina.
Jackson should not be the answer for the CB2 job opposite of Christian Benford. This seems more like a depth signing and there is familiarity. Jackson knows the system that McDermott likes to run, and so it creates less work to get him comfortable with the scheme.
Last season with the Panthers, Jackson allowed a career-high 75.9% completion percentage of throws that went towards him. However he only allowed 2 touchdowns all season (then again, he only played in nine games, starting in three).
It may not be the big move that Bills fans were hoping for, but it’s a move. Jackson reunites with the Bills and Buffalo gets familiarity back on their defense