The Buffalo Bills will be down one safety when they come off their bye week to host the Baltimore Ravens on November 1.
Starter Chauncey Gardner-Johnson must serve a one-game NFL-imposed suspension for violating the conduct policy by spitting on an opponent during the October 18 road game against the Las Vegas Raiders.
As a result, veteran Damar Hamlin will presumably start alongside Cole Bishop at safety in Week 7 with fifth-round rookie Jalon Kilgore providing insurance off the bench. Kilgore saw his first career defensive snaps as a dime safety in the wake of Gardner-Johnson's ejection last Sunday.
Potential Week 7 practice squad elevation
Although they could likely get away without making the move, especially if versatile defensive back Jordan Hancock, the Bills may opt to call up veteran safety Geno Stone from the practice squad for game day against the Ravens.
Rather than placing Stone in a standby role, Buffalo should give him enough snaps for an in-game evaluation. There's certainly a chance he can provide more of what the Bills need from that position group, especially against the pass.
Putting aside the extracurricular nonsense, Gardner-Johnson's performance has been subpar at best. He owns a 21.6 percent missed tackle rate while opposing passers are averaging 13.8 yards per completion when targeting him in coverage. In fact, the Bills should consider cutting Gardner-Johnson and giving his roster spot to Stone.
As a whole, the Bills' safeties are part of the reason why the team ranks next to last in pass defense (285.8).
Before thinking about a potential trade to upgrade the secondary, why not turn to someone who is already in the building and has experience producing at the NFL level? It certainly isn't the sexiest option, but it may yield better results than any external addition could at this point in time.
Who is Geno Stone?
The Bills added Stone in March after two seasons, and 34 consecutive starts, with the Cincinnati Bengals.
Stone, who signed a modest veteran contract reportedly worth $1.4 million, was drawn to Buffalo for a number of reasons, including an endorsement from fellow Iowa Hawkeye Micah Hyde.
Prior to spending back-to-back seasons as a Bengals' starter, Stone, a 2020 seventh-round draft pick, played out his rookie contract with the Baltimore Ravens. In 2023, Stone made a team-high seven interceptions to lead all NFL safeties.
While the 27-year-old Stone, who has 85 career appearances (53 starts) under his belt, struggled with his tackling and coverage last season, he has a versatility that gives him a chance to succeed in defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard's scheme.
“I was always a Swiss Army knife that kind of did a lot of different things and that's what I like my safety group to be," said Leonhard, who spent 10 years as a NFL safety. "There's going to be a lot of different roles and a lot of different positions and techniques they're asked to do."
Stone has earned starts as both a free safety and a strong safety since being drafted in 2020.
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