It did not look good for the Buffalo Bills defense with two of their studs heading to free agency. The Buffalo Bills were up against the salary cap with some big decisions on the horizon knowing it would be impossible to bring back both line backer Tremaine Edmunds and safety Jordan Poyer. The Bills front office had to face reality that they could have lost both of these guys to free agency not being able to pay them the money other teams had and were willing to give. The off-season for the Bills defense started off bleak with Leslie Frazier stepping down as the teams defensive coordinator who just wanted to step away from the game for one season to recharge his batteries. The Bills defense has been one of the top units in the league since Jordan Poyer and head coach Sean McDermott came to Buffalo in 2017. In the first day of free agency, right out of the gates the Chicago Bears plucked line backer Tremaine Edmunds off the board with a 4 year deal. Poyer wanted to come back to Buffalo but had said playing in some warmer climate with less state taxes sucking up all his funds would be ideal to him and his family. In the background, Poyer’s wife Rachel was never shy about chiming in on the lack of a contract extension. The Bills looked like they were on the ropes about to lose two of their captains on their defense. In the end, it all worked out for the 31 year pro-bowl safety as he landed a two year deal to return to his family the Bills where he had the most success out of his career and to play along side with his best friend safety Micah Hyde who missed most of the season last year with an injury. Hyde would comment on the taxes to his football brother as he most likely was the first teammate to know about Jordan coming back to town. The comment was just busting the chops on his friend for life – the kind of deal where everyone has that person in life that can say anything to poke fun at you when your foot is inserted in your mouth.

Jordan Poyer has played ten seasons in the NFL and has come a long way to being the ball hawk and big play maker on the Bills defense. Poyer was born in Oregon which has a better tax situation than Western New York, I assume. Poyer was drafted out of Oregon State by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 7th round of the 2013 draft. Poyer was an excellent baseball player in high school and in 2009 was actually drafted by the Florida Marlins so to play both baseball and football at a high level, Jordan is a very good athlete. For the Eagles, they did not show brotherly love for Poyer as he only played three games before then being released and picked up by the Browns. It was not until 2017 when Poyer arrived in Buffalo where he elevated his game and had 5 interceptions and found himself in a system that his talents thrived in or just found his game. Last season, in 12 games only due to injuries, Poyer would still get the Pro Bowl selection & still had 63 tackles, 4 interceptions, & 1 forced fumble, while defending 8 passes. In week six in a big game with the Chiefs, the Bills safety dealing with an rib injury could not fly with the team to Kansas City. Instead of missing the game between two heavy weights of the AFC, Poyer drove to Kansas City from Buffalo and back to play in that game. It shows you his heat and dedication to the team. In 2021, Poyer was named First NFL-All Pro selection. That year he tied his career high with 5 interceptions.

In 2020, Jordan Poyer thought he drank too much and said he was an alcoholic. Poyer went to some meetings and ended up quitting drinking for his own sake, for his family and perhaps just wanting to take his craft of playing safety in the NFL to new heights. Poyer would tell his Bills teammates then of his decision and the support he got from them and the Bills Mafia after he went on Instagram and told his story about the demon he was dealing with. His performance on the field did get better after the pandemic year of 2020. It takes guts to even mention to one person about your problem rather than opening up to a group of guys. It seems like this is the team the Buffalo Bills are. A small market franchise with dedicated fans and that mom and pop family operations at the work place as it spills on to the field. Since 2017, Poyer is the only NFL player with 500 tackles, 20 interceptions, and ten sacks. During that span, Poyer has had 22 interceptions which is good for 5th in NFL. Then 9 of those picks have come in the last two seasons.

Jordan Poyer wants to retire as a Buffalo Bill and that would be a great thing. He wants to win a championship with the Bills as that would be special for this group on the field and to give the fans of Buffalo their first ever Superbowl title. It would be that feeling the Chicago Cubs fans had in 2016 breaking over a 100 year drought since their last title. I think the Bills got lucky on this re-signing of one of their own. With Poyer’s age and with some injuries last year, teams were not willing to ante up for the all pro safety. Sometimes when things look bleak, destiny takes over and brings Poyer back to town. Poyer, in ten years in the NFL, has racked up 706 tackles, 11 sacks, 50 pass defended, 8 forced fumbles, 7 fumble recoveries, 24 interceptions, and one defensive touchdown. Poyer keeps that Buffalo defensive secondary solid, and the fans would love to see the dynamic duel next season do their thing with a healthy Micah Hyde back from injury. Now the Bills have to worry about finding Tremaine Edmunds’ replacement which will not be easy as he was a talented young line backer about to play in his prime years of his career. It’s better than trying to find two positions on your defense, especially with two captains on your field. This move bringing back Poyer may be one of the most important moves the Bills front office will make this off-season. Play makers on defense is very important with dealing with these high powered offenses the AFC has, especially in the Bills’ own division with how rivals are stacking up their squads.