Bills S Cole Bishop On Track To Start?
Expectations were high for Cole Bishop upon arrival in Buffalo during his rookie campaign in 2024. Things did not go entirely according to plan, but a starting safety spot is available to him this offseason. 
Bishop has operated with Buffalo’s first-team defense during the outset of OTAs, as noted by Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic (subscription required). That comes as little surprise given his status as a second-round pick from last year’s draft. The Bills’ other moves at the safety position this spring have pointed to a starting tandem alongside Taylor Rapp taking shape.
Rapp started each of his appearances last season, but Bishop missing most of training camp due to injury opened the door to Damar Hamlin handling first-team duties. The latter was retained on a one-year contract in March, a move which ensured continuity in the secondary but did not guarantee him a starting gig for 2025. Buffalo made an outside addition in the form of Darrick Forrest, but that veteran minimum investment will not impact the team’s defense.
During the 2025 draft, the Bills added three defensive backs. One of them – fifth-rounder Jordan Hancock – could see time at safety during his NFL tenure. The Ohio State product can be expected to primarily handle special teams work especially as a rookie, though. His presence should not impact Bishop’s ability to earn a starting spot in 2025.
Upon recovering in time for Week 2, Bishop managed to appear in each of Buffalo’s remaining regular and postseason games. The 22-year-old logged a 34% defensive snap share, and that figure will increase significantly this season if he can indeed land a starter’s role. Plenty of time remains before training camp even begins, but Bishop is off to a good start in his efforts to become a mainstay on defense for 2025 and beyond.
Bills Name Damar Hamlin Week 1 Starting S
Less than two years after going into cardiac arrest during a January 2023 game against the Bengals, Damar Hamlin will start at safety for the Bills in Week 1, according to Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic. This will be Hamlin’s first start since the on-field emergency.
Sean McDermott made the announcement Wednesday, praising Hamlin’s “consistency and opportunity” throughout training camp. In a contract year, Hamlin played his way off Buffalo’s roster bubble.
Hamlin’s well-publicized 2023 recovery did not lead to a prominent role last season. He spent the campaign buried on the depth chart, as Buffalo carefully managed his recovery and workload following the on-field scare. Hamlin only played in five games with just 17 total snaps on defense but seized his chance to earn a starting job after the Bills parted ways with its long-running Jordan Poyer–Micah Hyde safety duo this offseason.
“It’s one thing to come back off of an ACL or a broken bone. It’s another thing to come back off of what he came back off of,” McDermott said. “Let alone just to decide to play football, contact football in full pads at the NFL level. I don’t think I need to say anything more. It’s incredible.”
Hamlin faced plenty of competition for the chance to start alongside Taylor Rapp, who signed a three-year extension in March. The Bills then added Mike Edwards in free agency before drafting Utah’s Cole Bishop with the 60th overall pick of the 2024 draft. Hamlin (hamstring), Edwards (hamstring), and Bishop (shoulder) all struggled with injuries during training camp, limiting their ability to develop chemistry with the rest of the first-team defense. Bishop managed his first full practice since July 30 on Wednesday.
According to McDermott, Hamlin’s ability to build “a certain level of rapport” with Rapp was a crucial factor in earning the starting job. “That’s important as well at the safety position,” McDermott added. Hamlin may not remain the Bills’ starter once their safety room returns to full strength. Both Edwards and Bishop have returned as full participants in practice this week and could eat into Hamlin’s playing time once they are back up to speed. For now, however, Hamlin (14 starts in 2022, counting the game cancelled after his collapse) will make the leap back to first-string duty.
AFC East Notes: Jets, Godchaux, Fins, Bills
Aaron Rodgers made a surprising push to come back from a September Achilles surgery last season. That predictably ended without the Jets quarterback suiting up again. Robert Saleh is now planning to keep his starter on ice until the games count again. The fourth-year Jets HC said he does not expect Rodgers to play during the preseason, though he noted (via the New York Post’s Ryan Dunleavy) he is still deciding with regards to his QB’s participation in the team’s preseason finale. Rodgers sat out the first two Jets preseason games last year but received some work — after pushing Saleh for a chance to suit up, despite not having previously played in the preseason since 2018 — in the third contest. Teams generally park their starters for the third preseason game, and while it would be interesting to see how Rodgers looks post-surgery, it currently appears Week 1 will be his first appearance.
Here is the latest from the AFC East:
- Haason Reddick‘s holdout has become much costlier. In addition to the $50K-per-day fines the recently acquired Jets pass rusher is accumulating, a $300K penalty is expected to come his way due to a CBA wrinkle. As veteran NFL reporter Josina Anderson points out, Reddick can be fined up to 15% of his signing bonus. The Jets are not obligated to go after that money but could. They will levy the fines, Saleh assumes (via SNY’s Connor Hughes). A report last week suggested the sides were moving closer to ending this holdout, but it persists.
- Joining Matt Judon as a contract-seeking Patriots defender, Davon Godchaux is not practicing fully. The veteran defensive tackle is protesting his deal by staging what appears to be a partial hold-in, per the Boston Globe’s Ben Volin, who notes Godchaux went through some drills at Pats practice Tuesday. Unlike Judon’s situation, which has escalated, this has not become acrimonious just yet. A 2025 free agent-to-be, Godchaux is tied to a two-year, $20.8MM deal that calls for a $7.15MM base salary. As the Patriots have paid several key players, Godchaux did not participate in minicamp and has angled for what would be his second extension with the team.
- Shaquil Barrett‘s retirement caught his agent and the Dolphins by surprise. Drew Rosenhaus said the veteran edge rusher had been considering it for a while. Barrett, 32, alluded to spending more time with his family. Rosenhaus mentioned the tragedy the two-time Super Bowl winner endured last year, when Barrett’s 2-year-old daughter drowned in the family’s pool, during an interview with WSVN’s Donovan Campbell (via the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson). While Barrett returned for a final Buccaneers season after that tragedy, he is not planning to play an 11th season. Though, Rosenhaus did not rule out a comeback later this year. The Dolphins circled back to Emmanuel Ogbah in the wake of Barrett’s decision.
- The Dolphins finished last season down several linebackers due to injury. One of them, Cameron Goode, is not expected to be back by Week 1, Jackson adds. The torn patella tendon the 2022 seventh-round pick sustained in Week 17 led him to the Dolphins’ active/PUP list. It would not surprise to see him transferred to the reserve/PUP list, which requires a four-game absence, next month. Goode joined Jaelan Phillips, Bradley Chubb, Andrew Van Ginkel and Jerome Baker in being out for Miami’s wild-card game last season. Chubb and Phillips remain on Miami’s PUP list.
- The Bills entered camp with three players — Mike Edwards, Damar Hamlin and second-rounder Cole Bishop — competing to start alongside Taylor Rapp, The Athletic’s Joe Buscaglia notes (subscription required). Rapp spent much of last season behind longtime starters Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer but re-signed as the team went through a spate of cap cuts. Hamlin, who is on Buffalo’s roster bubble figures to see more first-unit time due to recent injuries to Edwards and Bishop. Edwards is week-to-week with a hamstring ailment, per Buscaglia, while Bishop left Tuesday’s practice. These setbacks led the Bills to bring in 36-year-old veteran Kareem Jackson on Tuesday.
Bills Sign Cole Bishop, Seven Other Draft Picks
The Bills signed a significant portion of their draft class today. The team announced that they’ve signed the following players to rookie contracts:
- Round 2, No. 60: Cole Bishop (S, Utah)
- Round 3, No. 95 (from Chiefs): DeWayne Carter, DT (Duke)
- Round 4, No. 128: Ray Davis (RB, Kentucky)
- Round 5, No. 141 (from Giants through Panthers): Sedrick Van Pran-Granger (C, Georgia)
- Round 5, No. 160 (from Packers): Edefuan Ulofoshio (LB, Washington)
- Round 5, No. 168 (from Saints): Javon Solomon (EDGE, Troy)
- Round 6, No. 204: Tylan Grable (T, Central Florida)
- Round 6, No. 219 (from Packers): Daequan Hardy (CB, Penn State)
The team previously signed seventh-round offensive tackle Travis Clayton. Second-round wide receiver (and the Bills’ top-overall pick) Keon Coleman is the only remaining unsigned rookie.
Cole Bishop had a standout career at Utah that saw him collect 197 tackles and 7.5 sacks. He earned second-team All-Pac-12 honors this past season, finishing with 60 stops, 6.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, and two interceptions. That performance helped establish Bishop as one of the draft’s top safety prospects, and he was ultimately selected by the Bills with the 60th-overall pick.
After releasing Jordan Poyer and with Micah Hyde remaining unsigned, the Bills should have an opening for Bishop in the starting lineup. Last year’s third safety, Taylor Rapp, is temporarily penciled in as the other starting safety, so even if the Bills add some reinforcement, there’s a good chance Bishop will still see significant playing time.