The Buffalo Bills placed cornerback Kaiir Elam on injured reserve. Elam injured his ankle during training camp. He reaggravated his ankle injury in Week 6 against the New York Giants. He played in Week 7 against the New England Patriots. Elam did not play on Thursday night against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Elam will miss at least four weeks.
The Buffalo Bills cornerback played college football at Florida.
Elam committed to play college football for the Florida Gators for the 2019 season. Elam started in five games during his freshman season, recording ten tackles, three interceptions, and four pass deflections. He was named to the 2019 SEC All-Freshman Team.
Elam started every game in his sophomore season, recording 39 tackles, two interceptions, and 11 pass deflections. He was named to the Coaches All-SEC First Team and the AP’s All-SEC Second Team.
Elam missed four games in his junior season with a knee sprain. He recorded 29 tackles, one interception, and five pass deflections. Elam would forgo his senior year with Florida and declare for the 2022 NFL Draft.
2022 NFL Draft.
Buffalo traded up two spots to draft Kaiir Elam in the 1st round, 23rd overall in the 2022 NFL Draft.
Kaiir had an uneventful rookie season.
Tre’Davious White started the season on the PUP list. He was recovering from a torn ACL in the previous season. Kaiir Elam and Christian Benford competed for Tre’Davious White’s starting spot. Elam lost the competition to Benford.
Elam got playing time in Week 2 when Dane Jackson suffered a gruesome concussion against the Tennessee Titans. Jackson was inactive for Week 3, and Elam got his first career start.
Benford suffered a fractured hand in Week 3 against the Miami Dolphins and missed the next two games. Elam started in Benford’s spot and took over as the starter for the next six games. Elam injured his ankle in Week 9, missing Week 10 and 11. He was a healthy scratch in Week 13.
Tre’Davious White played his first game of the season in Week 12. White ended up starting the rest of the season, regaining his spot.
Elam alternated with starting cornerback Dane Jackson for the rest of the season. Elam was 33/47 for 363 yards and three touchdowns with a 96.3 passer rating. He recorded 41 tackles, two interceptions, and four pass deflections.
Elam has had an uneventful second season.
There was a three-person competition between Kaiir Elam, Dane Jackson, and Christian Benford to start opposite sides of Tre’Davious White. Benford won the starting job to start the season. Elam was a healthy scratch for the first four games of the season.
Tre’Davious White suffered a torn Achilles in Week 4. Jackson filled in to replace White for the rest of the game and started in Week 5.
Benford injured his shoulder in Week 4 and missed Week 5. Elam started in place of Benford for Week 5.
Jackson suffered a foot injury in Week 5 and missed Week 6. Elam started for Jackson in Week 6.
There were teams interested in trading for Elam, but Buffalo refused any offers.
There is a possibility that the Buffalo Bills will shut down Kaiir Elam for the rest of the season.
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