After the first few days of NFL free agency (which honestly really began on Monday, March 11 at noon ET, “tampering period” be damned), the Buffalo Bills hadn’t yet addressed the safety position. Buffalo had already re-signed center Connor McGovern to a four-year, $52 million contract and traded for wide receiver DJ Moore (formerly) from the Chicago Bears, addressing two of their top needs for this offseason.
The Bills had also signed pass rusher Bradley Chubb (formerly of the Miami Dolphins and Denver
Broncos) to a 3-year, $43.5 million deal. They had already brought back offensive Alec Anderson on a one-year contract to presumably compete for the starting left guard position (though they may not be done adding there).
But they hadn’t added a veteran starter to play opposite budding star safety Cole Bishop. That all changed in a hurry, with back-to-back signings of C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Geno Stone. Gardner-Johnson comes to the Bills after being effective but also short-lived with multiple teams in the last few years. Stone has starting experience from his time with the Cincinnati Bengals, though he brings with him fairly well-documented tackling concerns.
Given that special teams ace/safety Sam Franklin Jr. had already re-signed with Buffalo prior to the start of the tampering period, these moves give the Bills four players sitting on the depth chart at the position who can reasonably be assumed to make the team — five if you count defensive back Jordan Hancock.
It may feel like the position is pretty well locked up for now, that selecting a safety in any round next month could be off the table. There are, however, multiple reasons why fans shouldn’t consider the case of Buffalo’s safety room to be open and shut. Here’s why…
Geno Stone might not necessarily make Bills’ 53-man roster
As of publishing, we have yet to learn the full details of Geno Stone’s contract with the Bills. We know he’s coming off a two-year, $14 million contract with the Bengals that was reduced by $1.5 million. We know his deal with Buffalo is a one-year pact.
If history trends, the fact that contract details were not immediately presented to an NFL insider for social media consumption means the contract isn’t likely a high-dollar amount deal. The assumption that because the Bills signed him in the first week of free agency, they will roll into Week 1 with him on the active roster is not necessarily a bad one, but not something that can be written in ink.
C.J. Gardner-Johnson might wear out his welcome earlier than usual
The man affectionately known as CJGJ has now been with seven different NFL teams since 2021. That is a staggeringly high number for a player with his play-making ability. Let’s make a list of reasons that may help explain his frequent-flyer mileage.
He got into a fight with New Orleans Saints teammate Michael Johnson in 2020. He got into an on-field scuffle with Chicago Bears wide receiver Javon Mims the same year after video showed him ripping the mouthguard off Mims’ helmet. He was ejected from a game between his Philadelphia Eagles and the Washington Commanders in 2024 after two unsportsmanlike penalties — and flipped off the crowd during his exit. He openly suspected he was blamed for an Eagles postseason scrum between the offense and the defense because he was “competing.” He stated that those same Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles traded him away in 2025 because they were “scared of a competitor”.
The idea that CJGJ might just upset the apple cart earlier than he has historically with other teams isn’t far-fetched and shouldn’t be assumed to be an impossible outcome. We know his Bills contract is for one-year, and “up to” $6 million, but like above with Stone, his contract details haven’t been released in full. We don’t know how cuttable or tradable the contract is, nor do we know when his historic issues will pop up or even if they will at all.
Sam Franklin Jr. may just not count
Franklin is a special teams player. You need to have a position next to every player’s name for depth chart purposes, but if the Bills ever get in a position where Franklin is playing opposite Cole Bishop, something has gone horribly wrong for the team in their desired outcomes. We have him counted as the fourth safety above (fifth if you include Jordan Hancock), and that’s likely where the Bills would like him to stay on the depth chart.
Speaking of Hancock…
Jordan Hancock might play nickel in 2026
Hancock was a man without a true position in 2025, moving around even during training camp to see where the coaches felt he best fit. When he had to play safety against the Jacksonville Jaguars during the playoffs, the results were less than optimal.
With the Bills trading away previous nickel stalwart Taron Johnson and signing former Atlanta Falcons cornerback Dee Alford to a contract as their first unrestricted free-agent acquisition announcement, new defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard might have something very different in mind for the position in 2026. Versatile defensive back Cam Lewis is now gone, having signed with the Chicago Bears, and if Hancock is slated to primarily be a nickel defender in 2026, that makes Franklin the fourth “probably rostered” safety, and Buffalo may want to add another.
The Bills might be done at safety. They may bring in a camp body or two as undrafted free agents to make sure they have enough players on the 90-man roster and that’ll be it. But the idea that the Stone and Garnder-Johnson signings guarantee that outcome pushes aside any of the potential outcomes seen above and for those reasons, I’m still keeping my eye on the Bills drafting a safety in late April.
…and that’s the way the cookie crumbles. I’m Bruce Nolan with Buffalo Rumblings. You can find me on Twitter and Instagram @BruceExclusive and look for new episodes of “The Bruce Exclusive” every Thursday on the Rumblings Cast Network — see more in my LinkTree!
