Kaiir Elam has struggled to carve out a role in Buffalo, and the cornerback may have to revive his career elsewhere. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, Elam is a name worth watching heading into Tuesday’s trade deadline. Fowler notes that the former first-round pick has garnered interest from rival teams.
Elam started six games in 13 appearances as a rookie but failed to establish himself as a permanent starter heading into his sophomore campaign. The cornerback was a healthy scratch for the first month of the season, but as the Bills dealt with a number of injuries in their secondary, Elam was thrown into the starting lineup for Buffalo’s Week 5 matchup against the Jaguars.
The cornerback ended up getting pulled during that eventual loss. He earned another start in Week 6 but didn’t keep the job; he exclusively played special teams in Week 7 before once again being deemed inactive on Thursday night.
The other night, Elam was lapped on the depth chart by veteran Josh Norman, who was activated from the practice squad. After the game, coach Sean McDermott indicated that the second-year CB wasn’t helping Buffalo’s cause.
“Yeah, we want the players, at this point, and we feel like every decision we make is who can help us win,” McDermott said (h/t A to Z Sports). “We wanted to see what Josh (Norman) could do there.”
While Elam hasn’t clicked with the Bills, another team would surely take a chance on the defensive back. The Florida product was the 23rd-overall pick in the 2022 draft, and his draft pedigree will be enough to earn him an opportunity elsewhere.
He isnt getting a premium asset in return.
Good WR trades get late round swaps back, on the other hand a rookie contract has value.
I don’t anticipate much – playing Josh Norman over him in saying a ton.
But he isn’t helping at all right now, and it seems as if he may not ever help the Bills. Maybe getting a 6th and sending a 7th back with him isn’t the worst thing.
But regardless of how this shakes out, I would really like another corner on the roster. I prioritize CB over DT or LB.
*I still might like to sniff the WR market too, despite Gabe aNd Shakir playing better. But CB depth is my top concern.
I kinda agree but I would go
1)CB
2)OLB
3)DT
4)WR
and maybe a good TE just in case Knox’s recovery takes to long
I feel like the Packers would be fools not to listen to trades offers with their excess CB depth. I would think that Stokes or Douglas could be had without giving up too much of a haul. Seems like the Bills would be a natural trade partner given their need at the CB position, and Elam could potentially be the Packer’s next project at the position, a la Rasul Douglas’s transformation two years ago.
I wonder if a Stokes/Elam swap makes sense?
I was not aware of Stokes being out of favor in Green Bay – I thought he was just hurt.
I would be all ears on that, but Im not sure it is realistic.
Many Bills fans actually liked Stokes in that draft, as he is more natural in zone coverage.
I just got this feeling that he’s is going to ship to the bears in a package with some draft picks for Johnson and the bills work out a new contract with Johnson
Make it so number 1!
He was a reach to begin with. If I recall his uncle did the same thing in Baltimore when he was also taken in the 1st round. Hyped up and then failed to play any meaningful football.
The one thing that I will say is that he is only 22 years old so maybe something will click. It’s looking like a maturity issue.