Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane has once again worked his magic to extend a cornerstone player at a team-friendly rate.
On Saturday, it was announced that the Bills and Christian Benford reached agreement on a four-year, $76 million extension. The deal comes out to $19 million on average, well below the asking price of top cornerbacks in the league.
Benford, 24, joined the Bills as a sixth-round pick out of Villanova in the 2022 NFL Draft (No. 185 overall). Despite being selected late on the draft’s final day, Benford quickly showed Buffalo’s coaching staff that he was ready to get onto the field as a rookie. Benford started nine games during his rookie year and emerged as the team’s top cornerback over the past two seasons when he logged 30 starts.
While still not yet a household name, Benford did start to get some national recognition. He picked up one first-team All-Pro vote and was named to Pro Football Focus’ top 101 players of 2024. Although Benford lacks gaudy interception stats, he locked down the opposition last season allowing just 0.51 yards per coverage snap allowed. This was good for first among all cornerbacks.
With Benford locked up for the next four seasons, Buffalo will now be able to turn their attention to finding a running mate to start across from him in 2025. Buffalo traded former first-round pick Kaiir Elam to the Dallas Cowboys and Rasul Douglas, last year’s No. 2 cornerback, remains a free agent. Dane Jackson was signed in free agency, but further competition will likely be added via free agency or the draft.
