90 Buffalo Bills players in 90 days: CB Jordan Miller

Sometimes, it seems that the Buffalo Bills just have a “type” when investing in different players. This year, it appears the team has decided that every cornerback they’re going to acquire is big. After spending much of the last five years with a full cadre of corners under 6’ tall, nearly every defensive back signed by the Bills this offseason has been at least 6’2”.

Sure, this could be completely coincidental, but I think that a player or two might be a coincidence. When it’s literally every player—from the guy drafted in the first round to the guy signed when another of those big corners decided to leave football—it’s less a coincidence and more a trend.

In today’s edition of “90 players in 90 days,” we discuss the most recent addition to Buffalo’s defensive secondary—a big corner looking for a chance.

Name: Jordan Miller

Number: 32

Position: DB

Height/Weight: 6’2” 190 lbs

Age: 25 (26 on 2/8/2023)

Experience/Draft: 3; selected in the fifth round (No. 172 overall) of the 2019 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons

College: Washington

Acquired: Signed with Bills on 7/30/2022

Financial situation (per Spotrac): Miller signed a one-year deal worth a total of $965,000. There are no guarantees on the deal, so if he is released prior to Week 1, there is no dead-cap charge for the Bills.

2021 Recap: Miller’s 2021 was a regular Odyssey, as he began with the Seattle Seahawks, the team he’d signed a reserve/futures deal with, before he was waived in August. He signed to the New Orleans Saints’ practice squad on September 6. He was promoted to the active roster on September 11, but was inactive for the team’s September 12 game against the Green Bay Packers. He was waived the following day, re-signed to the practice squad, and promoted to the active roster again for the team’s Week 2 clash against the Carolina Panthers. It was in that game where he played the only two snaps of his 2021 season, both of which came on special teams. He appears to have been active for New Orleans’ final three games, but he didn’t play in any of them. The Saints signed him to a reserve/futures deal in January only to waive him on July 26.

Positional outlook: Miller joined the squad after Travon Fuller left camp. Miller faces an uphill battle for roster space against the likes of Tre’Davious White, Kaiir Elam, Taron Johnson, Dane Jackson, Nick McCloud, Cam Lewis, Christian Benford, Olaijah Griffin, Siran Neal, Tim Harris, and Ja’Marcus Ingram. Given that he’s listed as a DB and not a CB, that implies that the team may see some versatility between corner and safety usage, so he could be trying to beat out Damar Hamlin, Josh Thomas, and Jaquan Johnson for the right to back up Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer, as well.

2022 Offseason: Miller is healthy and he has participated since joining the Bills at St. John Fisher for training camp.

2022 Season outlook: Chances are very good that, at best, Miller is auditioning for a role on the team’s practice squad. He hasn’t played a defensive snap since logging 24 as a rookie with Atlanta in 2019, so there isn’t much pro tape to go on regarding his ability. At Washington, he had 18 pass breakups and six interceptions over the course of his four-year career, and he tested fairly well at the 2019 Scouting Combine (4.49-second 40-yard dash, 37” vertical, 125” broad jump), so there is definitely some athleticism there. As far as shots in the dark go, this is a good one in terms of hoping that a big, athletic player can learn a corner-friendly system well enough to serve as a good emergency backup. At worst, he’s an athletic camp body auditioning for a role elsewhere, and at best, he’s a diamond in the rough that the Bills can polish to their liking.