Bills sign former first-round pick after one of the veterans competing for a starting job gets injured

On Sunday, the Buffalo Bills saw veteran safety Mike Edwards go down with a hamstring injury that's been labeled week-to-week, which was a pretty sizable blow considering he's one of the top candidates to replace half of the departed-duo of Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer.

Right now, one safety job is locked up, and that's Taylor Rapp's. Along with Edwards, Cole Bishop and Damar Hamlin are the primary competition for the second spot. That changed on Tuesday, though, when the Bills signed former first-rounder, Kareem Jackson, in an effort to keep the competition going. The team released linebacker Shayne Simon in a corresponding move.

Jackson was taken by the Houston Texans with the 20th overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft. He's appeared in 203 games over the course of his career, with 193 starts. He's logged 22 interceptions that include three pick-sixes, 110 pass deflections, 954 total tackles, three sacks, 30 tackles for loss, and a fumble recovery for a touchdown over the course of his career.

Jackson was most recently suspended in 2023 for illegal hits and met with Roger Goodell at one point during the season to discuss what he perceived as unfair treatment. Based off Jackson's post-conversation comments, it didn't sound like much was resolved.

“I was told that I’m responsible for the offensive guys’ protection,” Jackson said via DenverSports.com’s Andrew Mason . “So I’m not really sure how I protect myself, make plays, and protect him [the opponent] as well, but that’s what I was told. I’m not really sure what I do moving forward, as far as playing this game. Hopefully I’ll figure it out.”

If Jackson can avoid the unnecessary hits, which will be even harder now that he has a reputation, then the Bills have added some solid depth to the safety room. It still does raise a question, though, of just how severe Edwards' hamstring injury is. Hamstrings are very finicky, especially on skill players like safeties, who are constantly backpedaling, changing direction, and so on and so forth. There's also the question of how much faith does the staff have in Bishop and Hamlin, even if there are limited bodies in the room after those two.

Either way, the Bills now have an option to rely on in case Edwards' takes a while to return. It also allows them to be very flexible with the timeline. The last thing anyone would want is a setback and Jackson's presence adds another layer of protection to that.