Grading The Signing: Bills add a much-needed weapon to Jim Leonhard’s defense in first move of free agency
The first signing of free agency is here.
The Buffalo Bills have a deal, ladies and gentlemen. General manager Brandon Beane and the company had been quite through the first few hours of free agency, but that didn’t mean that they weren’t waiting in the wings, ready to pounce at an available deal.
The first deal has come and gone, and it sees Buffalo bringing in former Atlanta Falcons cornerback Dee Alford on a three-year deal. Buffalo adds some solid depth to their cornerback room when you pair him alongside fellow cornerbacks Christian Benford and Maxwell Hairston. That, and he could slot in well to the role that Taron Johnson would have played in Buffalo had they kept him.
The deal came in at three years’ worth up to $21 million, with $10.12 million in guaranteed money. The particulars outside of that aren’t known at this point. The deal will become official on Wednesday.
Dee Alford has a history with quarterback Josh Allen
If the name sounds familiar, it’s because during the 2025 season, Alford actually had an interception on quarterback Josh Allen when the Bills took on the Falcons.
Alford is coming off a career-high in interceptions (3) and passes defensed (13) in a 2025 season where he played in 16 games and also added two sacks and 67 combined tackles.
The four-year cornerback has played for Atlanta his entire career and has been on the field for over 2,000 total snaps. He earned a 52.8 grade for his overall defense, a 34.8 for his run defense, a 54.1 for his tackling, a 60.4 for his pass rush, and 56.5 in coverage according to Pro Football Focus. He played 366 of his 581 defensive snaps in the slot with Atlanta, maybe indicating the Bills have found a replacement for former nickel cornerback Taron Johnson.
It’s an underrated signing for the Bills, as Alford didn’t show up in A to Z Sports’ top-100 free agent rankings at all, despite the stellar play from the cornerback in Atlanta.
Right now, basically just ignore the numbers until Wednesday, when we get a better picture of how that money is allocated. This is all for the agents, making it look like they got the best deal possible, but that isn’t always the case.
For right now, it’s key depth at a crucial position, and that’s a win in my book. Either that, or the Bills have found their replacement for Taron Johnson, which would be another win.
Grading the signing: B
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Get it done, Brandon Beane.
