Buffalo Bills don't want to pay Da'Norris Searcy starter's money

If free agent safety Da'Norris Searcy is looking for starter's money, he's probably not going to be getting it from the Buffalo Bills.

Doug Whaley, the Bills' general manager, admitted in two separate interviews from the 2015 NFL Combine on Thursday that the team is not prepared to commit cap space to two well-paid safeties.

"That one’s going to be a little trickier, just because we put so much money into Aaron Williams last year. But we’re going to try our best," Whaley said on Thursday's The John Murphy Show. "It’s unfortunate, but that’s just the NFL life. You only have so many cap dollars to spread around, and if you invest highly in one, and the way (Searcy) played, he may have a chance to go out there and get the same type of money with Aaron. But you can’t have two safeties back there with that type of cap number. So that one’s going to be a little more challenging, but we’re going to try to make it work."

Whaley then echoed those comments in a brief interview with local Bills beat reporters.

A 2011 fourth-round pick out of North Carolina, Searcy, 26, has been a major contributor (though on a part-time basis) for the Bills for the past two seasons. In playing 63.7 percent of snaps in 2013 and 59.6 percent in 2014 as a nominal starter, Searcy accumulated 136 tackles, four interceptions, four sacks, and two defensive touchdowns in that two-year stretch. Should he leave, the Bills would likely turn to third-year pro Duke Williams as their next starter, though veteran defensive back Corey Graham could also factor into the equation there.