ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (WKBW) — The more things change, the more they stay the same at One Bills Drive.
As the Buffalo Bills prepare to take on the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, there’s a chance a familiar face could once again be suiting up for the Bills. Veteran safety Jordan Poyer is still on the Bills' practice squad, but made his 2025 debut in Atlanta on Monday Night Football.
“I'm extremely grateful for this opportunity to be able to come here and play for this organization once again and, you know, just do everything that I can to help this team win football games,” Poyer said on Wednesday. “Whether that's my scout team, whether that's being up, you know, whenever that is, I'm just staying ready to play.”
Poyer played 18 defensive snaps while Cole Bishop was sidelined with cramping. However, when Poyer entered the game, the defense tightened up and made several key stops against the Falcons, keeping the Bills in the game.
But the injuries haven’t stopped for the Bills. Taylor Rapp, the Bills' other starting safety, is dealing with a knee injury that has lingered since training camp. He missed practice on both Wednesday and Thursday, and his status for Week 8 is very much uncertain. Safety Damar Hamlin is on injured reserve, and rookie Jordan Hancock has played in just two games entirely as a special teams contributor.
So naturally, Poyer would look like the obvious choice to replace Rapp and play alongside Bishop in Carolina.
“Jordan wouldn't be back if we didn't have a lot of confidence and trust in him,” head coach Sean McDermott said. “We still take it one day at a time. We'll see where it goes with the T-RAPP situation, and we have other safeties as well that have been working, and we feel confident in them as well.”
“This is honestly the healthiest that I've felt since then (2023), and again I'm just excited to be here, excited to help these guys wherever that may be,” Poyer said. “If I'm up, I'll be ready. If not, you know, I'm a guy to help the guys be better football players.”
Regardless of who is playing safety, the Bills' defense has a lot to clean up. Tackling has been a consistent issue for the defense this season, which is why the Bills put on the pads immediately after returning from the bye week to send a message that they need to be better.
“Those specific details in tackling is also an art, too, right?” Poyer added. “All that comes with reps and comes with seeing the game and continuing to work on your craft because, you know, I do think that it is a craft and it’s art that you have to continue to harp on and continue to work on.”
