While speaking to the Dallas Cowboys media for the first time, former Bills defensive back Kaiir Elam discussed his tenure with the team.
After a disappointing three seasons with the Buffalo Bills, cornerback Kaiir Elam has something to say about his time with the team that drafted him.
Last week, the Bills traded Elam and a 2025 sixth-round pick to the Dallas Cowboys. Buffalo received a 2025 fifth-rounder and a 2026 seventh-rounder from the Cowboys.
Elam spoke to the Dallas media for the first time on Monday, discussing his experience with the Bills. He took aim at the team for not giving him a fair opportunity in three years.
“Coming to Buffalo, I was a kid that just wanted to improve and learn and really show off my talents. But I was always put in the back seat. I continued to put my head down and work, continued to make plays throughout the season and in the playoffs and stuff like that. I just took everything I learned from there and all the baggage and improvements I felt like I needed to make and just packaged it up and worked on it every day. I don’t really see it as a negative. I really just see it as a growing opportunity for me to go shine somewhere else.”
After being selected 23rd overall in the 2022 NFL Draft, Elam would play just 29 games in three seasons, racking up 81 tackles, six pass deflections and two interceptions. While playing in 13 games in two of his three seasons, he only appeared in three games in 2023 as primarily a healthy scratch and missed sometime late in the season after being placed on injured reserve.
Buffalo Bills cornerback Kaiir Elam (5). / Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Last season, he had a chance to battle for more playing time, but it would be his 2022 NFL Draft counterpart, sixth-round pick Christian Benford, who took a step forward and had a breakout season. Elam started just four of the 13 games he appeared in as he had 26 tackles, two pass deflections and a fumble recovery.
He’s widely regarded as a bust and a rare miss on general manager Brandon Beane’s part. Beane mentioned in his press conference last week telling the media that, “Ultimately, it’s on me. I made the selection that didn’t work out, and I own that.”
The experiment with Elam didn’t work, but both sides moved on and are in better positions after the move.
Dec 15, 2024; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Buffalo Bills cornerback Kaiir Elam (5). / Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images