Bills rookie defensive back Maxwell Hairston high-fives fans as he runs onto the field during Buffalo Bills training camp Shawn Dowd/Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Speedy rookie Maxwell Hairston off to painfully slow start with Bills

Originally posted on Buffalo Bills on SI
By Richie Whitt | Last updated Aug 27, 2025 7:06 PM ET

Rookie cornerback Maxwell Hairston was drafted because he's so fast. But now his Buffalo Bills' career is going to start too slow.

That doesn't, however, mean his rookie season — much less his NFL career — will be a disappointment.

The Bills drafted the Kentucky cornerback 30th overall last April, partly because of his blazign 4.28 speed in the 40-yard dash. But Bills Mafia has only been teased, as he suffered a sprained knee in training camp July 29. During Tuesday's roster cutdown, Hairston was placed on short-term injured reserve, meaning he will miss at the least the first four games of the season.

The soonest Hariston will be in uniform is Oct. 5, Week 5 against the New England Patriots on Sunday Night Football. Until he returns, the Bills are left to piece together a secondary with ailing cornerback Tre'Davious White opposite Christiana Benford. They also added veteran safety Jordan Poyer to the practice squad.

With NFL schedules now 17 games, missing four is no longer a death knell.

Adrian Peterson spent most of training camp on the PUP list in 2012 before rushing for 2,097 yards with the Minnesota Vikings. And in 1995 Deion Sanders missed the Dallas Cowboys' first eight games with a leg injury before returning to help lead them to Super Bowl XXX.

Along with Hairston, NFL rookies such as Steelers' sixth-round quarterback Will Howard and Jaguars' third-round safety Caleb Ransaw were placed on IR. Howard can return after four games, while Ransaw is out for the season.