The presumed starting safeties for the 2025 season were already on the Bills’ roster entering August. Even the top backup was basically in place. That’s not necessarily surprising, as it would be alarming if the team still didn’t have a clear idea of who would be playing on defense just a month from the start of the season.
Then, injuries happened. One young player has missed a significant amount of training camp for the second straight year. With some other players banged up, the Bills had to make
a move to ensure that they had enough bodies moving forward.
Enter the subject of today’s edition of “90 players in 90 days,” a safety with plenty of NFL experience.
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Name: Tre Herndon
Number: 38
Position: S
Height/Weight: 5’11”, 185 pounds
Age: 29 (30 on 3/5/2026)
Experience/Draft: 7; signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars following the 2018 NFL Draft
College: Vanderbilt
Acquired: Signed with Buffalo on 8/12/2025
Financial situation (per Spotrac): Herndon’s one-year contract is worth a total of $1.17 million if he makes the 53-man roster. That amount becomes fully guaranteed if he’s on the roster for Week 1 since he’s a vested veteran. Herndon’s cap hit is $1.03 million if he makes the club. Buffalo can release him at no dead cap charge if they do so before Week One.
2024 Recap: Herndon began the 2024 calendar year with the New York Giants. He played in two preseason games, totaling eight tackles, two pass breakups, and an interception. The Giants released him on August 27, and he remained a free agent until October 29, when he signed with the New Orleans Saints’ practice squad. He played in one game with the Saints, appearing on six special teams snaps. He did not make a tackle. The Saints did not renew his contract or offer him a reserve/futures deal at the end of the season, so he remained a free agent until the Indianapolis Colts signed him on July 31. The Colts cut him on August 9.
Positional outlook: Herndon is one of six true safeties on the current roster. Cole Bishop, Damar Hamlin, Darrick Forrest Jr., Wande Owens, and Taylor Rapp are the others. Cam Lewis and Jordan Hancock both play safety and slot corner.
2025 Offseason: Herndon is healthy and ready to roll for Buffalo’s preseason tilt with the Chicago Bears.
2025 Season outlook: Herndon is the kind of veteran you want to sign in August. He has starting experience, he has plenty of game experience, and he’s a veteran who can fortify the back end of the roster if you desperately need him to do so. You’re not going to find many true game-changers at this time of the year, so I’m not suggesting that Herndon is anything close to that. However, if the Bills needed him to appear on special teams in games this season, they’d be just fine. If they needed him to appear on defense, they’d be less fine, but they could sleep soundly knowing that they have a tested NFL veteran on the roster ready to roll.
Ideally, Cole Bishop is healthy enough entering Week 1 where keeping Herndon becomes a moot point. Since health is never a guarantee, it’s smart to have extra options. Herndon likely isn’t making the club, but he could be a solid enough special-teams contributor if needed.
