It's the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. trash talk chat. You also get an ad-free version of your favorite locked on show and a whole lot more. You can check it out by tapping the everyday or club link in the show notes. Cole Bishop needs a running mate. So I'll tell you about the free agent safety options that make sense for the role right now on locked on bills. you are locked on bills your daily buffalo bills podcast part of the locked on podcast network your team every day what's up bills mafia it's joe marino author of the herd mentality substack co-host of the locked on nfl scouting podcast co-host of the nfl first read podcast and I'm your host of Locked On Bills. Locked On Bills is a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, now the number one sports podcast network. I want to thank you for making Locked On Bills your first listen every day and a big welcome and shout out to our everydayers. You know who you are, those of you who never miss a single episode. I appreciate you all being here very, very much. Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. FanDuel is giving you a way to turn that energy into even bigger potential wins with a college basketball parlay profit boost. Head to fanduel.com to get started. Well, folks, welcome in. We are going to break down free agent safety options for the Bills on this episode. We have went through all of the primary needs for the Bills, receiver, center, left guard, defensive line, edge, linebacker, and safety. And I've identified free agent targets that make sense. And this is the last one that we'll do with safeties. And of course, the legal tampering period opens up a week from Monday and the moves will be coming soon. And so these episodes were designed to give you an understanding of what's available to the Bills. So we'll do that at safety on this episode. Now, the situation at safety for the Bills is very simple. They have Cole Bishop and he needs a running mate. The other safeties under contract are Jordan Hancock, a second year player that didn't really do anything as a rookie that tells you this is for sure going to be the guy. There's certainly some potential there. I liked a lot of what he was at Ohio State. He's athletic. He has good size. But obviously a very shaky rookie season after he was asked to play a lot of different positions. And it's very much unknown what he will offer. I'm hopeful that he'll have a role, but I can't tell you today that this is surely going to be the guy next to Cole Bishop. He'll factor into the mix, but didn't do anything as a rookie that says for sure he's in line to be the guy. And then Taylor Rapp, who I fully expect the Bills to release. And so the need here is pretty obvious. You have some expiring contracts here in Jordan Poyer, Damar Hamlin, and Cam Lewis. Those are all players that I think have run their course in Buffalo. They're McDermott guys. You're on to different stuff. They can walk. The other guy that's somewhat interesting is Darnell Savage, although under tough circumstances, I thought he struggled a lot for the Bills, but he has been a starter in the league. He's been a paid starter, a first-round pick. but not a player that has inspired me to believe that he's going to be a starter. Again, maybe a guy that's back in the mix, but not a player that's a priority that you're going to give a bunch of money to and really feel like is your guy next to Cole Bishop. Maybe he can be that guy, but nothing about who he was last year says to me that he should be. And so you got to find this running mate for Cole Bishop. And to me, a veteran makes sense. This is a young secondary when you consider Cole Bishop entering his third season. Max Harrison, a potential first-year starter. We'll see what happens in the slot, but I think getting a veteran makes sense, and when we do consider the amount of primary needs that the Bills have, this does feel like a position where you're looking for some value. This is not a position that I'm looking for a big splurge. Now, maybe there's a high draft pick involved, but in terms of a veteran splurge, that wouldn't make much sense to me. We'll talk about some more expensive options on this episode, but given the amount of overall needs, this is going to be a spot that I would avoid investing big dollars. And that's okay because I feel like there are some modest ideas that shouldn't cost much, but you could get a good starter. And so that's where we'll focus a lot of our conversation right now. So I have these broken into three different buckets. The first bucket is going to be the logical ideas, players that feel right in terms of what they offer and the cost. Then we'll get into guys that might be a little bit more pricey, and then we'll close by considering some very attractive but potentially too expensive options for the Bills. So let's get into the guys that feel right to me, and I want to start with Dane Belton. Dane Belton played last year for the Giants. He was a fourth-round pick by the Giants out of Iowa, and so he's coming out of his rookie contract. He turns 26 in December, 6'1", 190 pounds. Pro Football Focus says $4.25 million a season. SpotRack says $6.1. In 2025, he played 17 games for the Giants, nine starts on the field for 63% of defensive snaps, collected 120 tackles, two sacks, three tackles for loss, three forced fumbles, and an interception. The appeal to me with Dane Belton is that he could be a steal. He's played in 66 games with 22 starts across four seasons, and he produces, right? He's been a very productive, flashy player in a situation where he hasn't necessarily been a preferred starter. He still finds opportunities to get on the field, despite the Giants having some bigger investments at the safety position. There's a lot of special teams production here. He's athletic. He's extremely athletic. And John Igarogru, who's the Bills' inside linebackers coach, has been around him for his entire career with the Giants. And so I think there's a lot of upside and appeal here. The concern is that he simply hasn't been a full-time starter to this point. But the bottom line is that he feels like the right type of swing. When you consider price, age, athleticism, and upside, plus the flashes, this is a player I'd be super interested in coming to the Bills and maybe being a steal in free agency. So I'm in on Dane Belton. The next guy, Andre Sisco, played last year with the Jets. He turns 26 in March, 6'2", 10. Pro Football Focus estimates $2 million a season, spot racks is $3.6 million. In 2025, he played in eight games with eight starts, basically 100% of the snaps in those eight games. He's been an every-snap player really the last four years in the NFL, but he did have a torn pec in Week 8 that cost him the rest of the 2025 season The appeal with Andre Sisco is that he athletic and physical with outstanding ball skills He got good size He a 47 game starter in the NFL I thought when he finished his initial rookie contract with the Jaguars that there would be a bigger deal for him in free agency. And then he signed like a one year kind of prove it deal with the Jets. It was 8 million. So it's not nothing, but I thought he might get a multi-year deal based on the athleticism, the youth, the ball production that he's had in the NFL. And he settled on a one-year prove-it deal with the Jets. And of course, he gets injured halfway through it and doesn't get as much of an opportunity to prove it, if you will. But there's a lot of appeal here for the flashes that he's shown throughout his career. And the concern is that I think there's a risk-reward element to Andre Sisco. You probably watched him in college, and he makes a lot of plays, but there's some aggressive decisions where he might give up something in coverage because he wants to make a big play on the ball or he might whiff on a tackle because he's looking for a big stick. So you love that, but it also costs you a little bit too. But the bottom line here on Andre Sisco is that he's an appealing young player with upside. He overlapped with the Bills' secondary coach, Joe Dana, for one season in Jacksonville, and this feels like an appealing swing to me. The next player is Xavier Woods. Played for the Titans this past year. He turns 31 in July. Xavier Woods is 5'11", 200 pounds. SpotRack estimates $5 million a season. Pro Football Focus did not have an estimate here. In 2025 with Tennessee, he played intense starts. And really the last eight seasons in the NFL, he's been a full-time every snap player. He had a hamstring injury that ended his season with the Titans. But this is an experienced and productive starter. There's a high floor with signing Xavier Woods. He's a player I loved coming out of Louisiana Tech, and then he winds up being a pretty good starter for a bunch of years so far in the NFL. And the concerns here is not really anything major. I think he'd be a fine solution. As a player that's going to turn 31 in July, he's probably not going to be more than a one- or two-year option. But there's a high floor for what he brings, and I wouldn't be mad about it. I mean, for a veteran addition like this that's been part of several different defenses, several different installs throughout the last several years, I think this could be a useful player for the Bills to bring in and start next to Cole Bishop. So that's Xavier Woods. Let's get to our Darius Washington. He's been with the Ravens. He turns 27 in November. Our Darius Washington is not very big. 5'8", 180 pounds. Pro Football Focus estimates 4 million a season. Spirex is 1.8 million. In 2025, he only played in four games, and that's because he ruptured his Achilles in May of 2025. And then he actually returned late in the season for Baltimore in week 15. And obviously they went through a lot of the safety position. They, of course, have Kyle Hamilton. They drafted Malachi Starks in the first round. They traded for a Lowy Gilman. And so by the time, you know, week 15 comes around, Ardarius Washington's just kind of factoring back into the mix under weird circumstances. But the appeal here with Ardarius Washington is that he's a baller. If you watch this guy play at TCU, he was awesome. And he gets to the NFL. And, of course, he's an undrafted free agent because he's small. and he finally gets a chance to play extensively in 2024 and he completely changed the Baltimore defense. If you remember two years ago, Baltimore was a horrible defense and then they really stabilized and that really coincided with Ardarius Washington claiming a big role in that defense. Now the concern here is that he's had a lot of injuries. In 2021, his rookie season, he had a season-ending foot injury. In 2023, he had a chest injury that kept him out for like every game except for two. And then he has the Achilles May of 2025. But the bottom line here is that he was special in 2024. And if you liked Jim Leonard, the player, our Darius Washington is about the closest thing I've seen to him in terms of the size, the pedigree overlooked, but just makes a ton of plays all the time and has no idea that they're small and is very instinctive. I mean, that's what our Darius Washington is. So you got some injury risk here, but dude's a baller when he's on the field. Let me give you one more player here that might be more of a depth signing, but one that I ultimately think has a good chance to come into Buffalo. That's P.J. Locke, who has spent his career with the Broncos. He actually turned 29 in February. He's 5'10", 202. PFF says $2.5 million a season. SpotRack says $3.5. In 2025 with the Broncos, 16 games, three starts. He started 26 games over the last three seasons for Denver. So there's been some opportunities as they've had injuries to some of their guys, Brandon Jones with an injury, and others throughout the years that put him on the field. The appeal here is that he's a useful player, even in a depth role. He knows the defense. He spent the last two years with Jim Leonard. He's an established special teams guy that's been a spot starter in the style of defense that I expect the Bills to deploy. The concern here is that it's a guy that hasn't really been a full-time starter and he's not exactly young. He's going to turn, he's 29, but at a minimum, a good depth player that knows the defense that speaks the same language as Jim Leonard. That's been in the room with Jim Leonard. Um, I think PJ lock would be a good depth signing to have as like your third guy to be your Cam Lewis type player that inevitably you're going to need to use a little bit. And so I think he'd be nice to have in the mix, um, as kind of the third safety. All right, coming up next, I want to ramp it up a little bit with some players that I think will cost a little more, but might be worth it. So if these options were a little bit too bargain-binny for you, I hope not, because I really like Dane Belton. I like Cisco. I like Woods. I like Washington. Obviously, there's some concerns along the way, but if you're looking for a little bit more, I have some options that will cost a little bit more next. So folks, be sure Just stick with me. College basketball is nonstop. Big games, tight spreads, momentum swings every single night. From early tip-offs to late-night West Coast shootouts, there's always action on the board. And now FanDuel is giving you a way to turn that energy into even bigger potential wins with a college basketball parlay profit boost. You can build any college hoops parlay that you want, rivalry games, ranked matchups, whatever fits your read. You can mix spreads, totals, and player props to match how you see the slate playing out. And then you can apply the profit boost and instantly bump up the potential payout. So go safe, go bold, ride with the team you've been following all season. It's your parlay, your style, now with more upside behind it. So head to FanDuel.com to get started. That's FanDuel.com. FanDuel. Play your game. Workplace chaos. Deadlines are stacking up. The inbox is overflowing. And the one position you have to fill is still sitting open. When the pressure's on and you needed to make the right hire, this is a job for sponsored jobs. Indeed, sponsored jobs helps you reach the people who actually fit what you're looking for. Skills, experience, location. So you're not just hoping the right candidate stumbles across your post. And here's a stat that says it all. In the minute I've been talking to you, companies like yours made 27 hires on Indeed according to Indeed data worldwide. So if you hiring spend less time searching and more time interviewing candidates who check all your boxes with Indeed sponsored jobs There less stress less time more results When you need the right person to cut through the chaos this is a job for Indeed sponsored jobs And listeners of this show will get a $75 sponsored job credit to help get your job the premium status it deserves at Indeed.com slash podcast. Just go to Indeed.com slash podcast right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Indeed.com slash podcast. As terms and conditions apply, need to hire. This is a job for Indeed Sponsored Jobs. All right, folks, let's keep it going. I have some players that are a little more expensive. I like a lot of these guys, so let's talk about them. The first one, Aloy Gilman spent last year, or most of last year, with the Ravens. He turns 29 in September. Aloy Gilman is 5'10", 201. SpotRack says $4.1 million a season. PFF says 6.75. In 2025, he started 17 games, five with the Chargers, then 12 with Baltimore. The appeal with Eloy Gilman is that he's been a rock-solid starter for really the last three years in the NFL. He's a good coverage player. He's a good run support player. And I thought the Ravens' defense last year got a lot better when he entered the mix. He was part of that trade. It was Odafe Owe, the pass rusher, to the Chargers for Eloy Gilman, the safety. and the concerns here, I don't really have any concerns. I think he's a high floor option that would come in and do the job and he would be a sound addition. It's just a matter. Is he going to come in at 4 million a season? Is it going to be closer to seven? And I think that's a big difference for this Bill's team and kind of trying to find some value, but I'm a big fan of a Louie Gilman. I've been a big fan of a Louie Gilman. I think he'd be a great running mate to Cole Bishop. the next guy geno stone uh spent the last couple years with the bangles he turns 27 in april 5 11 210 pff says 4 million spot rack says 7.6 million a season last year he started 17 games on the field for 93 of snaps 104 tackles two sacks two picks he's had 13 interceptions over the last three seasons the appeal here to me with geno stone is that he's a durable player with good ball skills like i said 13 interceptions over the last three years that's kind of been his calling card and kind of an assignment driven player in coverage. At least the concern is that the last two years in Cincinnati didn't look like his last two years in Baltimore, right? So he kind of had this glow up as a Raven last two years. He's ascending. He has like seven interceptions. His last year gets a nice payday, goes to Cincinnati, and then really didn't quite look like the player that he was in Cincinnati or in Baltimore in Cincinnati. But I will say that the Cincinnati defense has been deplorable as a whole. And so maybe he just kind of gets lost on a bad defense. But I will say that even in Baltimore, missed tackles were an issue, almost a 20% career missed tackle rate. So there are some concessions here. The bottom line with Geno Stone is that if you think you can get the Baltimore version, I think that's a good starter. Let's talk about Kevin Byard with the Bears. He turns 33 in August. Kevin Byard is 5'11", 218. PFF says 9 million a season. SpotRack says 7.8. in 2025 he played you know started every game every snap which is pretty much who he's been since 2017 he had seven interceptions last year which led the entire NFL the appeal with Kevin Byard is that he's a tremendous deep zone defender and an excellent tackler I think he'd be a great compliment to Cole Bishop I really am looking for a guy that I trust to play in one high alignments and frees up Cole Bishop to be a little more versatile and I think he'd be a great pair with Cole Bishop. The concern here is age and cost. Turns 33 in August. He's played a million snaps in the NFL, and he's probably going to push 10 million. And so does that make sense? If it does, if the money does make sense for the Bills, he'd be a nice one-year option. Let me tell you about one more player here in this kind of transitional set of players before we get into some guys that might just be too expensive let's mention reed blankenship uh with the eagles he turns 27 on march 2nd so there's a good chance he's it's his birthday when you're listening to this uh reed blankenship is 6-1-2-0-3 bff says 7 million a season spot rack says 7.2 in 2025 he started 16 games on the field for you know over 89 of the snaps which is kind of what he's been the last few years. He was a UDFA out of Middle Tennessee State. And the last three seasons of his rookie deal, he's been a starter for Philadelphia. The appeal with Reed Blankenship is that he's experienced playing in those deep zones that I kind of talked about. He's a guy that has made some unbelievable plays on the ball. He's a hammer against the run. He's a good safety. Like he's showed a lot of playmaking upside over the last few years. The challenge with Reed Blankenship is that unlike most players, he didn't necessarily have a great contract year. He's coming off of a down year in 2025 as part of a great defense, right? Philly's defense was great. And he had more lowlights than he really had throughout his career to that point. And so the bottom line here with Reed Blankenship is that if you get the guy from 2023 and 2024, that's going to be a heck of an addition that would, you know, certainly meet this $7 million a year estimation that PFF and SpotRack both have. All right, so that's the in-between bucket. Eloy Gilman would love it. Geno Stone, Kevin Byard, I think he'd be a great one-year option. And then Reed Blankenship, if you tell me he gets back to form, there's some nice options here. Coming up next, I have some more nice options, but they just might be a little too expensive. We'll talk about them here on the other side of it. So folks, be sure to stick with me. we live in a world where we can stream anything order food in minutes and carry supercomputers in our pockets and somehow buying tickets to a live game still feels complicated hidden fees jumping prices endless steps there's got to be a better way and there is and that's why i use the game time app it gives the advantage and makes getting tickets simple whether it's nfl games concerts comedy whatever you're into in fact i just checked out the app for an upcoming concert or a comedian show actually that my wife and I are going to attend in March. And it was super easy to get tickets, was able to see the view from the seat. So we knew what we were getting into and the price included, of course, all the fees. So there's no surprise fees coming at checkout. And you can even spot zone deals where you pick the section in game time, we'll pick the seat for extra savings. So two taps and you have great seats locked in. It's fast, it's easy, and it's over with. So take the guesswork out of buying tickets, download the game time app, create an account and use code locked on for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Again, create an account and redeem code L-O-C-K-E-D-O-N for $20 off. Download game time today. All right. Have some more options that I want to talk about. These guys just might be out of the Bills price range. These are players that I think have a good shot at getting 10 plus million dollars a season, but they're available. The Bills have a needed safety And if the Bills feel like this is a spot where they want to dump a few bucks well there options as well let start with Jaquan Brisker of the Bears he turns 27 in April 6 PFF says 8.3 million a season spot rec says 11.1 in 2025 17 starts and he's really been in every snap guy across his four seasons in Chicago except for 2024 where he only played in five games and had a season-ending concussion. But otherwise, every snap guy, physical player that he came back this year and was that physical player that they drafted him to be out of Penn State. The appeal is that he's a really good player. I liked him in college. He's been a good starter. You can feel him when you watch games. There's a physical element that he provides. The concern is that I just don't know if he's the most versatile option. I'm looking for a deep zone guy, and I think Jaquan Brisker is a little redundant to Cole Bishop. Maybe two good players, no doubt about it. but he's not quite the one high center fielder that I'm truly looking for, but he's a good football player, but ultimately probably more salary here than I would want the bills to invest. Good player though. Let's talk cam curl, cam curl with the Rams. He turns 27 in March, 6,2 207. Spot rack says 10 million a season. PFF says 8.75 in 2025, 17 starts with the Rams, two interceptions, which is interesting. He went four seasons without having a single interception after having three as a rookie. So three as a rookie, two last year, four seasons in between, none. And he's been a starter pretty much every year. The appeal here is that he's an above-average starter and has been for six years, and he's still only 27 years old. The last two seasons with the Rams, I really like that they played him in deeper alignments, which is what I'm looking for out of this player for the Bills, and even for a deep player, he's an excellent tackler. The concern is that maybe you wish there was a little more playmaking, a little bit more in the way of ball skills for a player that's probably going to be around $10 million a season. The bottom line here is that he might be on the higher end, but if the money made sense, it's a very logical fit for the skills that he provides and what I think the Bills should be looking for. Let's talk about Jalen Thompson from the Cardinals. He turns 28 in July, 5'11", 190. SpotRack says $8.2 million a season. PFF says $9.5. In 2025, 15 starts. He's been a good starter, really, for the last five seasons. He was a supplemental draft pick out of Washington State and very quickly became a starter for Arizona. Within a couple of seasons, he was a quality starter. And, of course, the Bills special teams coordinator, Jeff Rogers, was the assistant head coach and special teams coordinator for the Cardinals for the last several seasons. So he's had a firsthand look at Jalen Thompson, who's been a good running mate to Buda Baker. The concern here, or the appeal is that he's been a consistent player, especially in coverage and as a tackler. Like he's been very, very consistent for a number of years. I think you know exactly who Jalen Thompson is in the NFL. The concern is the cost. And you probably wish for a player that's going to be a $10 million a year safety, that there was more of a resume of splash plays. He's been more of a, just a very consistent, like where he's supposed to be in coverage, good tackler. Maybe you wish there was more splash production along the way, but that also could be when you have a guy like Buddha Baker, you're going to, you're going to highlight that guy a little bit more to make those splash plays, which might be more of what the bills want to do with Cole Bishop is kind of your, Hey, that's your, your guy that you want to put in those positions. And then Jalen Thompson's your, your deep leverage type guy that still tackles quite well. So I'd be a fan. I don't know if I want 10 million bucks invested in the safety, but depending on what the true cost is and what the bills want, I mean, I wouldn't be mad about Jalen Thompson being Cole Bishops running me. Give you one more player here. Jalen Hawkins from the Patriots turns 29 in August, 6-1-2-0-8. PFF says 11 million a season. Spot rec says 8.2. 20-25, 15 starts, 4 interceptions, 71 tackles for New England. The appeal here is the deep coverage skills, tackling, run, support, very consistent player. He got into a stable situation with the Patriots and played his best football after he was with the Falcons for like four years, then maybe one year with the Chargers, and then two with the Patriots. And this past year, as New England really stabilized, of course, as the AFC champions, Jalen Hawkins played his best football and played next to Craig Woodson, who was a fourth-round pick that was a starter for them. And I'm looking for a veteran to come pair with Cole Bishop, and you've seen Jalen Hawkins kind of do that as a deeper safety. The concern would be, does last year justify the expected price? You have one good season as a starter. Should we be talking about you as a $10-11 million a year safety? And again, is that what the Bills want to pour into this position? I have my reservations about that, especially when there's some players that I think would cost less that maybe even be better options. So hopefully this conversation highlighted those players for you. I'll mention very quickly Brian Cook with the Chiefs, Kobe Bryant with Seattle. Those guys are awesome. Would love them. They're probably $12 million a year safeties or more. I think Kobe Bryant in many ways would be perfect. A guy that's played all over the secondary and has really thrived in deep zones in a similar style of defense that I think the Bills are going to play. And Brian Cook, a stud second-round pick out of Cincinnati by Kansas City, very much a do-everything playmaking type guy that I think could get 12, 13-plus million a season. So, yeah, those are great players. We'd love to have them. The NFL is a limited resource environment, and the Bills are not necessarily brimming with cap space. So they're going to have to make some choices, especially when you look at the overall landscape of needs. You're going to have to pick a few spots where, yeah, we're not going to have this perfect option, but can we invest a little something and get a better option? And maybe there's some upside along the way. And I look at safety and left guard as, as two spots where you might choose to be a little more economical in your approach. And so we'll see what the bills ultimately do, but as has been my goal, there's a bunch of options that I think would make sense. And this, this podcast was intended for you to become acquainted with them. So I certainly hope that you enjoy, I hope you'll come on back. We have lots of content on this feed. I'm giving you five 30-minute podcasts a week. We're also giving you another five 10- to 20-minute podcasts per week with Jerry and I, and then the two-hour-long roundtables with Bill Squad, with myself, Jeremy White, and Jerry Ostrowski. So, so much content on the feed. Don't miss it. Just make sure you're subscribed. Would love it if you took a second to rate, review, and share the podcast. Have a great rest of your day. Go, Bills. And I look forward to catching up with you again real soon. Meet the energy shot that tastes just like birthday cake. Confetti craze, extra strength, five-hour energy, tastes like a rich, buttery, vanilla birthday cake. Frosting and all. Light the candles, make a wish, and get ready to celebrate with every sip. Feel unstoppably energized with as much caffeine as your favorite 12-ounce fancy coffee, but with zero sugar for zero sugar crashes. For more information and to get the party started, visit 5hourenergy.com or visit Amazon today.
