Most predicted the Buffalo Bills would struggle to replace the production from the safety tandem of Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer. The two were as set-it-and-forget-it as things get in the NFL, but all things end, in time. The brought in safety Taylor Rapp, and have been high on him at the free safety spot since day one.<\/p>\n
Rapp may struggle to stay on the field thanks to injury, but his status as a starter isn\u2019t up for grabs. It\u2019s all those in the room with Rapp who remain in unknown territory, with head coach Sean McDermott revealing to media members on Tuesday, August 19 that the team is \u201cstill searching\u201d for that starter opposite Rapp.<\/p>\n
This isn\u2019t the most ideal time for such news, not with Buffalo opening the 2025 regular season just 18 days from now, with a huge primetime game against the Baltimore Ravens on September 7 for Sunday Night Football. It\u2019s telling that even with Rapp\u2019s injury history he remains head and shoulders above the entire safety group.<\/p>\n
Damar Hamlin is a known commodity. He\u2019s a great and vocal on-field leader, and capable of excelling in run support. Hamlin, at minimum, raises the floor. It\u2019s in trying to figure out what the team has between Darrick Forrest Jr. and Cole Bishop. The Bills have barely looked Forrest\u2019s way, even if McDermott claims that he\u2019s still very much in the running to win a starting job.<\/p>\n
Though the early portion of offseason work and into training camp, Bishop was the odds-on favorite to start next to Rapp. He was listed on the team\u2019s depth chart as a starter, and all signs pointed toward positive development as both an individual player and partner with Rapp. Then, another injury \u2014 a sudden common theme for a young pro who was healthy, available, and capably versatile in college.<\/p>\n
But as with Hyde and Poyer\u2019s dominance, all things come to an end. For Bishop, that rings true when it comes to good health, and he\u2019ll beat the label branded on him if it\u2019s the last thing he does. Just ask his head coach who (alongside defensive coordinator Bobby Babich and safeties coach Joe Danna) has yet to make a final decision about the starting strong safety on the team\u2019s 53-man roster.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really feel like Cole, from the time he\u2019s come back<\/a>, it\u2019s just been a short runway to this point. He continues to improve\u2026 those so many subtle things that come up. Even in the practice the other day against the Bears, it looked like a good practice. And then there\u2019s a little thing here that, had he not practiced, right? Had he not practiced, he would not have experienced. So that adds callous to his experience and his resume, if you will. You know, he has shown to this point that the ability, the skill level, uh, can be there. We\u2019re just not there yet. And so his refining process if you will, goes one day at a time, one rep at a time. And, again, this \u2014 we\u2019re just kind of getting started because of what wasn\u2019t with his availability, you know, again, um affects that.\u201c<\/p>\n