Entering Friday more than $31MM over the cap, the Bills are releasing a longtime staple. They are cutting cornerback Taron Johnson, ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler reports.
While boundary cornerbacks have come and gone in Buffalo during the Brandon Beane era, Johnson has patrolled the slot for nearly all of the franchise’s resurgent period. The 2018 fourth-round pick was tied to a three-year, $30MM contract. Two years remained on the deal.
This release is not slated to produce much in the way of cap savings — unless Buffalo designates the cornerstone defender as a post-June 1 cut. A post-June 1 designation would save the Bills $8.67MM in 2026 cap space. Otherwise, the club would save less than $2MM this year and incur more than $8MM in dead money. Teams are allowed two post-June 1 designations annually.
The Bills used the same defensive system throughout Johnson’s tenure, but with Sean McDermott being fired, a big change is on tap. Buffalo will be expected to deploy Christian Benford and 2025 first-round pick Maxwell Hairston as its boundary starters, but a hole now exists in the slot.
More to come.