The Buffalo Bills announced today that they’ve signed free agent cornerback Shareece Wright.
Wright, 30, was a third-round pick by the San Diego Chargers in 2011. After four seasons with the Chargers, he’s spent the last two seasons with the Baltimore Ravens. Last year, his position coach with the Ravens was Leslie Frazier, who was hired as the Bills’ defensive coordinator this offseason.
While he was drafted into the NFL long ago, it is worth noting that his measureables at the 2011 NFL Combine bear a striking resemblance to those of Zack Sanchez, a 2016 fifth-round pick of the Carolina Panthers who appeared in five games on Sean McDermott’s defense.
Wright is not a hyper-productive cornerback by any means. He has only one career interception, and that came way back in 2013. He has 90 tackles in 23 games over his last two seasons with the Ravens, with 11 pass defenses and a fumble recovery.
While Wright has started at least six games in each of the last four seasons, he doesn’t figure to continue that trend in Buffalo. First-round pick Tre’Davious White is a likely starter alongside incumbent Ronald Darby, which would leave Wright to battle with second-year man Kevon Seymour for the slot cornerback job. Wright may also figure into the rotation at safety, where there is little depth beyond free agent signees Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer.
This isn’t a major signing, but it’s an important one. The Bills were forced to turn to reserves in the secondary quite a bit last season, often with disastrous results (Robert Blanton’s performance against Seattle comes to mind). If Wright is able to serve as a solid depth piece who can perform when he’s forced into the spotlight, the Bills might stay in a game they would otherwise lose. A couple wins when the depth steps up could be the difference between a Wild Card spot and an 18th year of The Drought.