How a contract extension could benefit both the Bills and safety Jordan Poyer

Poyer entered the league as a seventh-round pick for the Philadelphia Eagles. After being a healthy scratch in Weeks 5 & 6 for Philadelphia, Poyer was waived, getting claimed off waivers by the Browns two days later. Poyer spent the next three seasons in Cleveland as a backup safety and backup punt returner. He earned four starts in 2015 when starting free safety Tashaun Gipson suffered an ankle injury. When Gipson left in free agency the next offseason, Poyer was named the Browns’ starting free safety going into the season. After six starts, Poyer was hit by Antonio Andrews with an illegal blindside block while Poyer was covering a punt. Poyer was rushed to the hospital with a lacerated kidney and a possible concussion. He would miss the remainder of the season on injured reserve.

After his recovery, Poyer signed a four-year, $13M deal with the Bills as a free agent. Bills head coach Sean McDermott named Poyer the starting strong safety alongside fellow newcomer Micah Hyde, who had just signed as a free agent after four years in Green Bay. This would mark the beginning of a five-year, ongoing stretch as one of the league’s most consistent and effective safety duos.

Poyer and Hyde immediately made their presence known in Buffalo as both recorded five interceptions each in their first year as Bills. Over the last five seasons, Poyer has missed only two games while tallying 18 interceptions and 36 passes defensed. Despite outpacing Hyde for interceptions during their time in Buffalo, Poyer has played with more versatility with time as a box safety. Poyer has forced six fumbles, recovering six. He’s also added 10.0 sacks and 29 tackles for loss in his past five seasons.

Before his initial contract expired, Poyer signed his current two-year, $19.5M extension, keeping him on the roster through 2022. Before the 2021 season, though, Buffalo and Poyer agreed to rework his contract, converting $5.2M of his base salary into a signing bonus. The moved saved the Bills $2.6M in cap space for 2021, but elevated Poyer’s 2022 cap hit from $7.7M to his current $10.78M number.

Being one of the older safeties in the NFL, Poyer is likely looking at a two- or three-year extension. Three years would be a generous offer from the Bills based on knowing Poyer fits in their locker room and crediting him for having one of his best statistical seasons at 30 years old. A two-year deal is much more likely.

Looking into value, the better safeties in the league are making anywhere from $13M per year to $16M per year. Taking his age and past deals into account, the Bills might offer Poyer something in the range of $12M-$13.5M in average annual value.

The Bills have a good thing going with Poyer and Hyde manning centerfield. They haven’t been drafting to replace the duo and have no reason to until their play begins to decline. Vic Carucci of WGRZ in Buffalo thinks that training camp is the perfect time to extend their safety, saying Poyer is “far too valuable to leave him with any feelings of uncertainty about his future in Buffalo.”