An unfortunate training camp injury is throwing a wrench in the Buffalo Bills' plans with first-round pick Maxwell Hairston after the rookie cornerback suffered an LCL sprain in July.
Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic thinks a lack of reps in the preseason will cost Hairston a starting job to veteran Tre'Davious White, much like the situation Buffalo had to deal with last season between Cole Bishop and Damar Hamlin.
"Similar to Bishop with Hamlin, Hairston’s main competition for the starting job is Tre’Davious White, who boasts way more starting experience in the Bills’ scheme than Hamlin had last year," Buscaglia wrote. "If the Bills are winning and playing pretty well on defense, the odds they’ll want to upset that by replacing one of the most well-respected players in their locker room with a first-year player are pretty low.
"Now, should White struggle significantly, that’s where things may start to open up for Hairston. But as the Bills have alluded to over the last week since the injury, this is a critical time in development and learning the defensive scheme for first-year players, which puts Hairston behind the learning curve until he’s able to get back on the field in a meaningful way."
The Bills made it to the AFC Championship game in a rebuilding year in 2024. Buffalo expects to contend for a Super Bowl in the upcoming season.
It makes sense for the team to feel confident in White, an All-Pro and 2017 first-round pick, until Hairston proves he can be a better defender in clutch situations. Hairston will likely have an opportunity to do just that. It's hard to think a spot won't come open in the secondary because of injury in the span of a 17-game regular season.
The wait just might be longer than the Bills and Hairston anticipated in April when he was taken with the No. 30 pick.
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