The Buffalo Bills were apparently interested in free-agent cornerback Chris Harris, formerly of the Denver Broncos, but he picked an intra-division rival instead. According to Josina Anderson of ESPN, Harris is heading west to the Los Angeles Chargers.
“Chris Harris Jr wanted to be in a spot that allows him to be the QB of the defense,” said James Palmer of NFL Network. “He usually follows in base and then when a team goes to 3 WRs he moves inside and can be the playmaker that has made him an All Pro. He’s one of the smartest players I’ve ever covered.”
That clearly wasn’t going to happen in Buffalo with the safety and linebacker experience.
Anderson listed the Bills, Las Vegas Raiders, Dallas Cowboys, and New York Jets as possible landing spots but Harris ends up elsewhere.
Buffalo was looking to further bolster their cornerback depth behind Tre’Davious White with Harris. This offseason they already signed Josh Norman to a healthy deal and re-signed Levi Wallace to an exclusive-rights free agent deal. They also have Taron Johnson as the slot cornerback and Siran Neal as the Big Nickel cornerback. With the Bills playing three cornerbacks on roughly 50% of the snaps, they wanted to ensure they had depth.
Instead, Buffalo will probably look to the NFL Draft for another player who can step in and replace Wallace and/or Norman a year from now (or sooner).