Former All-Pro safety Jordan Poyer is coming back to Buffalo, joining the team’s practice squad.
The move was first reported by NFL insider Jordan Schultz, who cited agents Drew Rosenhaus and Kyle Lincoln.
Poyer’s return is a full-circle moment for the longtime defensive leader who spent last season with the Miami Dolphins after being released by the Bills in March 2024. He has long expressed interest in returning to Buffalo.
“It’d be dope, it’d be ideal to have a fantasy ending and be able to retire a Bill,” he told Good Morning Football earlier this offseason.
Poyer, 34, return gives the Bills a wealth of experience in the secondary.
Buffalo kept four safeties on its initial 53-man roster after cutdown day Tuesday. Poyer has more NFL experience (12 seasons) than all four combined. Taylor Rapp, Cole Bishop, Damar Hamlin, and Jordan Hancock collectively have 11 seasons between them.
Poyer was one of the first major additions after Sean McDermott became head coach in 2017. Over his seven seasons in Buffalo, he recorded three straight 100-tackle campaigns from 2018-2020, earned first-team All-Pro honors in 2021, and was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2022.
He ranks fifth in team history with 683 tackles and is tied for 10th with 22 interceptions. He also added 11 sacks, eight forced fumbles, and five fumble recoveries as a Bill.
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Buffalo ended a 17-year playoff drought in Poyer’s first season with the team in 2017. The Bills made the playoffs six times in his seven seasons and won four straight AFC East titles to close out his first tenure.
Head coach Sean McDermott spoke in March 2024 about the difficulty of parting ways with veterans like Poyer and White, emphasizing their foundational role in Buffalo’s resurgence.
“I mean, you don’t replace people like that,” McDermott said. “They were, call them the pillars of us getting this culture changed in the right direction and laying that foundation. When you go 17 years not making the playoffs, you bring in players and people like the ones you mentioned, and they made a huge impact on our organization on the field, but also off the field. Their leadership, I think, will be felt for years to come.”
It turns out, that leadership won’t just be felt, it’ll be wearing a helmet.
After his release in March 2024, Poyer signed a one-year, $2 million deal with the Miami Dolphins. He recorded 98 tackles while playing 90.6% of the Dolphins’ defensive snaps, but ranked 97th out of 171 safeties by Pro Football Focus with a 62.5 overall grade. Miami was swept by the Bills last season, and in the second meeting, Poyer was flagged for a personal foul on a helmet-to-helmet hit that injured rookie receiver Keon Coleman and helped set up Buffalo’s game-winning field goal. Coleman missed four games with a wrist injury.
Poyer formed a formidable safety tandem with Micah Hyde in Buffalo for seven years from 2017-2024. Last year, Buffalo signed Hyde to its practice squad for the final stretch of the regular season and playoffs as a mentor to younger players. Hyde never played in a game and retired as a Bill after the season.
Poyer, like Hyde, may not be done impacting Buffalo’s secondary, whether it’s on the field or in the locker room.
Jordan Poyer stats
2013 (Philadelphia and Cleveland): 12 games; 21 tackles
Jordan Poyer’s return isn’t the first recent reunion for Buffalo this offseason. Cornerback Tre’Davious White, cut alongside Poyer in March 2024, was re-signed earlier this year, and defensive tackle Jordan Phillips is also set to rejoin the team’s practice squad for his fourth stint with the Bills.
Poyer, White and Phillips have all commented that they’d like to retire with the Bills.
Former All-Pro safety Jordan Poyer is coming back to Buffalo, joining the team’s practice squad.
The move was first reported by NFL insider Jordan Schultz, who cited agents Drew Rosenhaus and Kyle Lincoln.
Poyer’s return is a full-circle moment for the longtime defensive leader who spent last season with the Miami Dolphins after being released by the Bills in March 2024. He has long expressed interest in returning to Buffalo.
“It’d be dope, it’d be ideal to have a fantasy ending and be able to retire a Bill,” he told Good Morning Football earlier this offseason.
Poyer, 34, return gives the Bills a wealth of experience in the secondary.
Buffalo kept four safeties on its initial 53-man roster after cutdown day Tuesday. Poyer has more NFL experience (12 seasons) than all four combined. Taylor Rapp, Cole Bishop, Damar Hamlin, and Jordan Hancock collectively have 11 seasons between them.
Poyer was one of the first major additions after Sean McDermott became head coach in 2017. Over his seven seasons in Buffalo, he recorded three straight 100-tackle campaigns from 2018-2020, earned first-team All-Pro honors in 2021, and was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2022.
He ranks fifth in team history with 683 tackles and is tied for 10th with 22 interceptions. He also added 11 sacks, eight forced fumbles, and five fumble recoveries as a Bill.
Buffalo ended a 17-year playoff drought in Poyer’s first season with the team in 2017. The Bills made the playoffs six times in his seven seasons and won four straight AFC East titles to close out his first tenure.
Head coach Sean McDermott spoke in March 2024 about the difficulty of parting ways with veterans like Poyer and White, emphasizing their foundational role in Buffalo’s resurgence.
“I mean, you don’t replace people like that,” McDermott said. “They were, call them the pillars of us getting this culture changed in the right direction and laying that foundation. When you go 17 years not making the playoffs, you bring in players and people like the ones you mentioned, and they made a huge impact on our organization on the field, but also off the field. Their leadership, I think, will be felt for years to come.”
It turns out, that leadership won’t just be felt, it’ll be wearing a helmet.
After his release in March 2024, Poyer signed a one-year, $2 million deal with the Miami Dolphins. He recorded 98 tackles while playing 90.6% of the Dolphins’ defensive snaps, but ranked 97th out of 171 safeties by Pro Football Focus with a 62.5 overall grade. Miami was swept by the Bills last season, and in the second meeting, Poyer was flagged for a personal foul on a helmet-to-helmet hit that injured rookie receiver Keon Coleman and helped set up Buffalo’s game-winning field goal. Coleman missed four games with a wrist injury.
Poyer formed a formidable safety tandem with Micah Hyde in Buffalo for seven years from 2017-2024. Last year, Buffalo signed Hyde to its practice squad for the final stretch of the regular season and playoffs as a mentor to younger players. Hyde never played in a game and retired as a Bill after the season.
Poyer, like Hyde, may not be done impacting Buffalo’s secondary, whether it’s on the field or in the locker room.
Jordan Poyer stats
2013 (Philadelphia and Cleveland): 12 games; 21 tackles
Jordan Poyer’s return isn’t the first recent reunion for Buffalo this offseason. Cornerback Tre’Davious White, cut alongside Poyer in March 2024, was re-signed earlier this year, and defensive tackle Jordan Phillips is also set to rejoin the team’s practice squad for his fourth stint with the Bills.
Poyer, White and Phillips have all commented that they’d like to retire with the Bills.
