The Buffalo Bills, as they usually do on this first day of free agency negotiating, took their time before getting on the board.
But five hours into the process, reports indicate they are signing cornerback Dee Alford to a three-year contract worth up to $21 million which includes around $10.2 million guaranteed.
This would seem like the candidate to replace Taron Johnson in the slot as Alford played 366 of his 581 defensive snaps in the slot last year. He has also played on the boundary, and even took snaps at safety which means he can provide some versatility for new defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard.
Three of Alford’s four career interceptions came last season when he also made a career-best 13 pass breakups. One of the picks came against Josh Allen in Atlanta’s 24-14 Week 6 victory over the Bills. Interestingly, that may have been Alford’s best game in 2025 as he also recorded a sack on a blitz, had four tackles and allowed just two completions on five targets.
Also in that game, Alford made a tackle on Joshua Palmer that resulted in an ankle injury, and Palmer was never able to fully recover, essentially sabotaging his debut season with Buffalo.
While Alford had a solid year against the pass, he is coming off a down season as a run defender where he earned a Pro Football Focus grade that was third-worst among 121 corners who played at least 80 run defense snaps.
Alford was not drafted out of tiny Division II Tusculum University where, in 40 games he made 140 tackles and 10 interceptions, while his 40 passes defended set a school record.
He went north of the border to begin his pro career in the Canadian Football League. He missed the 2020 season due to the pandemic, then was part of the 2021 Winnipeg Blue Bombers team that won the Grey Cup which is the CFL’s championship game.
He joined the Falcons in 2022 as a free agent and made the team as a slot corner and special teamer. During his four seasons he started 23 of 64 games and he totaled four interceptions, two forced fumbles, three recoveries, 216 tackles and 3.5 sacks.
It doesn’t seem like the Bills would consider Alford as competition for Maxwell Hairston on the outside, across from Christian Benford as his best snaps have come in the slot.
However, they have to be cognizant of Hairston’s inability to stay healthy last season, so Alford will probably get work both inside and out, depending on what else the Bills do to add competition.
Sal Maiorana has covered the Buffalo Bills for more than four decades including 36 years as the full-time beat writer/columnist for the D&C. He has written numerous books about the history of the team, and he is also co-host of the BLEAV in Bills podcast/YouTube show. He can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com, and you can follow him on X @salmaiorana and on Bluesky @salmaiorana.bsky.social.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Bills to sign veteran cornerback to deal worth up to $21M
Reporting by Sal Maiorana, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
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