The Buffalo Bills have toiled through an entire offseason program, working through minicamp, training camp, Hard Knocks, and the preseason. Now, they’re ready for the regular season to begin. With the team’s 53-man roster set — for now — we have a clearer picture of each positional group. After an offseason full of speculation, we can finally begin to focus on the real games.
One position in particular has captivated Bills fans this summer, and that’s the safety room. While one starter has been known
for some time, the second man in the secondary’s final line of defense has been a struggle. We know who the coaching staff seems to want there, but we haven’t been able to see exactly how that would go.
In our latest installment of “90 players in 90 days,” we discuss the man who everyone knew would be one of the team’s two starting safeties.
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Name: Taylor Rapp
Number: 9
Position: S
Height/Weight: 6’, 208 pounds
Age: 27 (28 on 12/22/2025)
Experience/Draft: 7; selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the second round (No. 61 overall) of the 2019 NFL Draft
College: Washington
Acquired: Signed with Buffalo on 3/31/2023
Financial situation (per Spotrac): Rapp enters the second year of his three-year deal that he signed before last season began. The contract is worth $10.625 million in total. For this season, Rapp’s cap hit is $3,666,666. If he’s released, Buffalo will carry a dead-cap charge of $2,858,334.
2024 Recap: Rapp slotted in as a full-time starter for the second time in his career last season, and for the first time as a member of the Bills. He started 14 games in the regular season, missing three games due to injury. He suffered a concussion in Buffalo’s Week 4 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, causing him to miss their Week 5 loss to the Houston Texans. He then suffered a neck injury against the Rams in Week 14, a game the Bills also lost, before sitting out two straight victories against the Detroit Lions and the New England Patriots.
Rapp finished the regular season with 82 tackles, two interceptions, six pass breakups, two tackles for loss, and one forced fumble. He allowed 69% of the passes thrown his way to be completed for a total of 343 yards and three scores.
In the postseason, Rapp totaled three tackles, an interception, and a pass breakup in his two games. He once again suffered an injury against the Ravens, as he left the game with a hip injury that caused him to miss the AFC Championship Game.
Positional outlook: Rapp is set to start next to second-year man Cole Bishop. Damar Hamlin is the likely top backup, with rookie Jordan Hancock and special teams ace Cam Lewis also ready to slot in if necessary.
2025 Offseason: Rapp is healthy and ready to roll this season.
2025 Season outlook: The Bills need a big year from Rapp this season, as one of their calling cards in the early days of the Sean McDermott era was an almost otherworldly ability to limit big plays in the passing game. That was due in large part to the strength of the safety play, with Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde doing a phenomenal job to keep plays in front of them.
The Bills took a noticeable step backward in that department last season, as Rapp and Damar Hamlin weren’t the elite combo that Poyer and Hyde had been. With a better athlete in Bishop starting next to Rapp this year, the hope is that the team can better use their safeties interchangeably like they did in those early days.
Rapp, for his part, has to stop treating his body like it’s something that can be replaced by pressing the reset button before the game auto-saves. His high-motor is one of the best parts of his game, but he lives on the edge of playing aggressively and playing dangerously all too often. He’s just as likely to deliver a big hit on an opponent as he is to take out his own teammate via friendly fire, and all too often, he injures himself in the process.
I’ve seen his style of play compared to Ralph Wiggum being thrown back through the living room window, and I’ve also seen it compared to playing Super Mario Bros. while under the influence of a superstar. Both comparisons may be humorous, but they hold a certain degree of truth.
Rapp is a good player, a plus athlete, and an asset to the secondary. He’s likely best as an “in the box” safety, but given Buffalo’s current safety room, he’s had to play more of a centerfield role more often than I’d wager the team wants him to play it.
If Bishop can come along next to him, then it will allow the Bills to do more with disguise in their defensive secondary. If Rapp can stay healthy, it will solidify a Buffalo secondary that has its fair share of question marks.
