Bills bolster defense with signing of former 1st-round pick

Sep 24, 2023; Landover, Maryland, USA; A view of a Buffalo Bills player’s helmet on the sidelines against the Washington Commanders at FedExField. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

The Buffalo Bills are addressing their glaring hole at the safety position.

Buffalo announced Tuesday that they have signed veteran Kareem Jackson to a one-year contract. To make room for Jackson on the roster, they have released linebacker Shayne Simon.

Jackson, a 36-year-old with 14 seasons of NFL experience, was a first-round draft pick by the Houston Texans back in 2010 (No. 20 overall). He was a cornerback for the first part of his pro career but shifted over to the strong safety spot when he signed with the Denver Broncos before the 2019 season. Jackson is known as a hard hitter but very often overdoes it and has gotten suspended multiple times in recent years for illegal hits.

On the Bills’ end of things, they were forced to release their former All-Pro safeties Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde earlier this offseason for salary-cap purposes. With another Bills safety in Mike Edwards recently suffering a hamstring injury in training camp, Buffalo is turning to Jackson to add some sorely-needed depth to their secondary.