The Sean McDermott era has taken off, and it took all of two months for an entire reshaping of the defensive secondary. On Friday afternoon, the Bills released yet another defensive back, this time letting go of safety and Buffalo native Corey Graham.
Graham, 31, spent the last three seasons in Buffalo, serving in a starting role for the majority of his time with the team. Graham made a total of five interceptions during his three years with the Bills.
He's the fourth member of the secondary with a substantial role to have exited the Bills over the last week. Graham, safety Aaron Williams, and cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman were all released, while cornerback Stephon Gilmore left for New England as an unrestricted free agent.
By releasing Graham, the Bills will save approximately $4 million dollars on the 2017 salary cap.
Joe B's Take
Of all the potential salary cap casualties the Bills could have made this offseason, this was one of the most glaring just by looking at salaries and potential savings on the salary cap. Graham exits after playing a sizable role with the team the entire time he's been in Buffalo.
Removing Graham from the roster means one thing: Sean McDermott is getting his way with who goes and who stays on the roster. He wants players that can play multiple roles, and while Graham has past experience playing cornerback, he's on the decline of his career and made way too much money to keep on the roster.
I wouldn't expect that the Bills are done adding to the secondary in a significant fashion. They could look for another safety, corner depth, or even a potential starting boundary cornerback to compete with second-year player Kevon Seymour.
The players they have brought in so far, Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer, provide them with a lot of flexibility for where they'll line up. Expect that trend to continue in the secondary, with it even delving into the linebacker spot as well. Hybrid players are all the rage in the NFL, and the Bills are clearly subscribing to that theory with Sean McDermott as their head coach.
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