The Buffalo Bills have revamped their defense this offseason, adding plenty of new names and new faces to the defensive line and the secondary. Whether we’re talking about draft choices or free-agent pickups, the Bills have added plenty of new talent to those particular units.
At cornerback, however, some of the new recruits are actually familiar faces. The Bills signed two former draft choices of the club who played elsewhere last season in hopes that they could raise the floor of the cornerback position
by adding players who know the system. While one of those players was a former late-round draft choice who fashioned himself into a solid player, another of those old friends is a former All-Pro looking to prove that he’s back to full health.
In today’s installment of our “90 players in 90 days” series, we discuss one of the most popular Bills players in recent memory.
Name: Tre’Davious White
Number: 27
Position: CB
Height/Weight: 5’11”, 192 pounds
Age: 30 (31 on 1/16/2026)
Experience/Draft: 9; selected by Buffalo in the first round (No. 27 overall) of the 2017 NFL Draft
College: LSU
Acquired: Signed with Bills on 4/17/2025
Financial situation (per Spotrac): White signed a one-year deal worth $3 million this offseason. The contract was initially reported as being worth $6.8 million. For the 2025 season, he carries a cap hit of $2.88 million if he makes the 53-man roster. If he’s released, Buffalo will carry a dead-cap charge of $2.2 million for the season. If White is on the roster for Week 1, his entire $1.56 million base salary becomes fully guaranteed since he’s a vested veteran.
2024 Recap: After tearing his Achilles tendon with the Bills in 2023, White was released and designated a post-June 1 cut by the only team he’d ever known. White signed with the Los Angeles Rams on March 26, and thanks to injuries to other players in the secondary, he was immediately thrust into a starting role.
White started the Rams’ first four games, and it did not go well. He allowed 12 of the 18 passes where he was the closest defender to be completed for a total of 178 yards and four touchdowns. Opposing quarterbacks sported a 138.4 quarterback rating when White was the closest defender. For context, he had allowed 10 total touchdown receptions in 72 games, including playoffs, with Buffalo.
White was a healthy scratch for the Rams after those four starts, and he was traded to the Baltimore Ravens at the trade deadline. In limited action, White looked better with the Ravens, allowing eight completions in 14 coverage attempts for a total of 73 yards in nine games, including playoffs.
In 11 regular-season games, White totaled 22 tackles and five pass breakups. It’s the only season of his career without an interception, and the only time he’s allowed opposing quarterbacks to have a passer rating above 79.9 when he was the closest defender in coverage.
Positional outlook: White is one of 13 corners in camp right now. Christian Benford, Daryl Porter, Te’Cory Couch, Jordan Hancock, Dorian Strong, Taron Johnson, Cam Lewis, Maxwell Hairston, Ja’Marcus Ingram, Dane Jackson, Daequan Hardy, and Brandon Codrington are the others.
2025 Offseason: White has looked very good in camp thus far, earning the lion’s share of CB2 snaps in the early going. He told reporters not to be surprised if he’s the starter once the season begins because, well, he’s worked quite hard.
Tre’Davious White says no one should be surprised if he’s the Week 1 starter: “I put a lot of fucking work in.” https://t.co/OAjR4F1fhL
— katherine fitzgerald (@kfitz134) July 25, 2025
2025 Season outlook: There’s really only two ways that this goes: either White comes back one full year removed from a series of serious injuries and reclaims his mantle as a top-level cornerback, or he serves as a quality mentor for first-round pick Maxwell Hairston as he ascends to a starting role. White isn’t going to be released — you don’t guarantee a guy over $2 million if you’re going to release him prior to the season starting — so to me, the real question is whether or not he sees significant snaps this year.
It feels a little like a basketball analogy, but I believe that White is the perfect guy to sit back in a zone against some of those teams that have big-bodied wideouts, whereas Hairston is likely the speedster who comes in to play more man when the Bills need to be more athletic and physical on the outside against speedier players. White knows the system inside and out, he’s always been a willing tackler, and he understands his assignments well enough where he can play them himself and counsel Hairston on how to do it in the future.
However, at his age and with his injuries, White isn’t going to be able to stick with some of the league’s quicker, shiftier guys. That’s where the rookie comes into play, both literally and figuratively.
If Tre’Davious White is healthy for 17 games, I wouldn’t be surprised if he finds himself in the running for NFL Comeback Player of the Year. His experience in the system combined with a clean bill of health just adds more depth to what should be a strong defensive secondary. He’s the perfect system guy for head coach Sean McDermott and defensive coordinator Bobby Babich.
Uncle Tre is back in Buffalo with @DDawkins66 and fam ❤️
— NFL (@NFL) July 25, 2025
Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the @BuffaloBills premieres August 5 on @HBOMax. @NFLFilms pic.twitter.com/zVdUpork2U
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