Bills training camp: Corey Graham will be playing corner, not safety

Fueled largely by offseason comments made by Doug Marrone hinting at the possibility, there has been speculation that new Buffalo Bills defensive back Corey Graham would be a contender for a starting safety job in training camp. That is not, however, the plan for Graham, according to GM Doug Whaley.

"He'll be fighting for outside, nickel, and in a pinch, we would move him back to safety, but I think we’re going to concentrate on him in the corner position right now," Whaley told John Murphy last night.

The Bills have clearly been more concerned with their depth at cornerback than they have been at safety, particularly after early-season injuries to Stephon Gilmore, Leodis McKelvin, and Ron Brooks thinned them out during the first six weeks of the 2013 season. Buffalo did not have to want to move Aaron Williams, or any other capable coverage safety, to cornerback again.

"Injuries obviously are part of the game, and last year we lost two corners," Whaley said last night. "We didn’t want to have to move anybody around to compensate for the lack of depth. Corey automatically brings us depth."

With Graham's role now set in stone, you can expect to see him working with the first-team defense when practices begin tomorrow, as starter Leodis McKelvin is still recovering from offseason hip surgery. Meanwhile, the team's starting safety position next to Williams will come down to a competition between Da'Norris Searcy, Duke Williams, and Jonathan Meeks, per Whaley.