Kaiir Elam has struggled to carve out a role in Buffalo, and the cornerback may have to revive his career elsewhere. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, Elam is a name worth watching heading into Tuesday’s trade deadline. Fowler notes that the former first-round pick has garnered interest from rival teams.
Elam started six games in 13 appearances as a rookie but failed to establish himself as a permanent starter heading into his sophomore campaign. The cornerback was a healthy scratch for the first month of the season, but as the Bills dealt with a number of injuries in their secondary, Elam was thrown into the starting lineup for Buffalo’s Week 5 matchup against the Jaguars.
The cornerback ended up getting pulled during that eventual loss. He earned another start in Week 6 but didn’t keep the job; he exclusively played special teams in Week 7 before once again being deemed inactive on Thursday night.
The other night, Elam was lapped on the depth chart by veteran Josh Norman, who was activated from the practice squad. After the game, coach Sean McDermott indicated that the second-year CB wasn’t helping Buffalo’s cause.
“Yeah, we want the players, at this point, and we feel like every decision we make is who can help us win,” McDermott said (h/t A to Z Sports). “We wanted to see what Josh [Norman] could do there.”
While Elam hasn’t clicked with the Bills, another team would surely take a chance on the defensive back. The Florida product was the 23rd-overall pick in the 2022 draft, and his draft pedigree will be enough to earn him an opportunity elsewhere.
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