Two weeks ago, when news first broke about the Buffalo Bills reportedly signing cornerback Dee Alford on the opening Monday of the NFL’s legal tampering period, many members of the fanbase were left scratching their heads.
“Who?”
“They’re replacing longtime veteran Taron Johnson with him?”
“The contract was worth how much? That’s starter money!”
Comments like these and more could be seen littered all over across social media just a few short moments after league insiders began relaying the information, especially when fans caught first glimpse of the initial figures — a three-year deal worth up to $21 million, including $10.12 million guaranteed.
The sticker shock and what it initially suggested about Buffalo’s plans for the player seemed to misalign with what many thought would happen to begin the team’s free agency festivities.
Alford, who will turn 29 in November, is just one year younger than the aforementioned Johnson, a player who had been a fixture in the Bills’ secondary since being drafted back in 2018.
So, while it was easy to see why the team decided to move on from an aging veteran like their former draft pick, replacing Johnson with a player who is just one year younger and who has four years less experience at the NFL-level seemed odd, to say the least.
However, once the dust settled and fans began to separate their heart from their mind, while simultaneously taking a peak at Alford’s highlight reel from his time with the Atlanta Falcons, the move began to make a little more sense.
And, if you knew just what it took for Alford to be standing where he is now, you might not be as quick to cast judgement on the player.
In fact, you probably would have been one of the first in line to congratulate the newest Bills’ defensive back on a contract that is seemingly a culmination of a lot of blood, sweat, and tears from the Griffin, Georgia, native.
“I personally just feel like — the journey that I’ve been on — it’s defined me as a person, as a player. It speaks (volumes) on how I play, just always having that chip on my shoulder — (an) underdog mentality. I feel like I’ve been overlooked my whole career,” Alford said when speaking to the local media through Zoom in his introductory press conference at the beginning of March.
“The route that I had to take, it just shows you (that) whatever you put your mind to, you can achieve it, you know? Don’t give up. Things (are) going to get tough. Everyone takes a different path, but we can all align (as) one and go on that same journey. But, I feel like it defines me, like, as a person. I’m a hard worker. I’m dedicated. I’m goal driven, you know, (and) different things like that. And, yeah man. I just feel like just having that underdog mentality, it made me who I am.”
A walk-on at little known Tusculum University — a Division II school in tiny Greeneville, Tennessee, which has a population of just around 15,979 people — Alford managed to set a school record when all was said and done in his collegiate career, tallying a school-best 40 pass breakups from 2016 to 2019 while adding 140 tackles and 10 interceptions in 40 games played.
It was certainly an impressive collegiate career for a player that was once an afterthought for the school, and it kept him wanting more.
Much more.
So, as he sought to continue his playing career at the next level, the 5-foot-11, 180-pound defensive back shifted his focus to preparing for a Pro Day at the beginning of the 2020 offseason.
However, as was the case with many players that year, especially ones hailing from smaller schools, Alford’s plans were put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and his chances of getting in front of as many eyes as possible that spring were thwarted.
Eventually, though, opportunity came knocking from across the northern border as the former walk-on managed to earn a contract in the CFL . . . roughly 1,450 miles away from Tennessee in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
And although playing in the Canadian Football League wasn’t the ultimate goal for Alford, reaching any professional level of football was a far cry from where the then 23-year-old had been just four short years prior when coming out of Spalding High School as a zero-star recruit.
With that in mind, Alford continued to do what he had always done — work.
“That’s the first thing I told Coach Joe (Brady), man. Just, I played in Winnipeg, and it was a time (where) I didn’t get to see the sun because it was so much snow, and I feel like that — just going through that type of weather — can prepare me for Buffalo weather and, you know, I’m ready and I’m fired up,” Alford said in an instant reaction video with Bills’ team reporter Maddy Glab immediately upon putting pen to paper on his life-changing contract back on March 12.
“I’m close to, you know, to the border — I got a fanbase in Canada — and hearing Bills Mafia, man, (it’s been) so much love, and I’m fired up no matter if it’s hot or cold.”
Following a year in which he was “on the couch”, so to speak, due to the cancellation of the 2020 CFL season, the former Tusculum Pioneer playmaker simply continued putting his nose to the grindstone during the following offseason, eventually earning a role as a starter for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers entering the 2021 campaign as a first-year player.
Appearing in 14 games that season, which included nine starts, the glow-up from an unwanted Division II walk-on to rising CFL star was fast and heavy as Alford earned CFL top-performer of the week honors early on in September of that year when he managed to rake in two interceptions and force one fumble on top of collecting two tackles against the Edmonton Elks, returning one of the interceptions for a touchdown in the process.
From there, success continued to find Alford as he went on to tally 48 tackles and four interceptions on the year en route to fortifying the Blue Bombers as the league’s top defense that season, all while eventually helping Winnipeg win its second consecutive CFL title with a 33-25 overtime victory against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the nation’s 108th Grey Cup.
For some, that may have been enough . . . a storybook ending for the ages — a true accomplishment.
But, not for Alford.
Having reached the pinnacle of one of North America’s football leagues, the former Pioneer and Blue Bomber standout was ready for a new challenge.
This time he wanted to take his talents to the NFL.
And, on January 22, 2022, the Georgia native’s football journey seemingly came full circle when he was signed to a reserve/futures contract with the Atlanta Falcons, landing him right back in his home state where a passion for football took off as a kid.
Alford was making plays for Spalding High School just 38 miles down the road only seven years earlier, and now he’d be representing the state’s only NFL team . . . certainly a surreal moment.
However, he didn’t let the moment become too big for him. Instead, he continued to put his head down in pursuit of his dream, eventually beating the odds once again to earn a spot on the 53-man roster out of training camp that season.
From there, Alford took care of the rest — just as he always has — as he went on to appear in 48 games over the next three seasons, including 16 starts combined from 2023 to 2024, all while registering 149 tackles, 24 pass deflections, two fumble recoveries, one-and-a-half sacks, one forced fumble, and one interception during that span.
In 2024 alone, he tallied a career-high 83 tackles, along with 11 pass deflections — which also led the team that season — on top of adding one sack, one tackle for loss, and one forced fumble.
He had seemingly arrived . . . or so one would have thought.
However, when free agency rolled around that offseason — the Falcons didn’t tender him at all, and Alford was allowed to sign elsewhere.
That didn’t happen, though, and nearly a month had passed into the 2025 offseason before he ultimately had to make a business decision.
So, on April 7, 2025, after presumably no outside offer piqued his interest enough, Alford decided to stick around and came to an agreement on a one-year deal to remain with Atlanta.
It wasn’t the lucrative contract the “hometown” kid was hoping for, but the feisty defensive back wasn’t going to waver.
He knew his relentless pursuit of living out his dream would eventually pay off in dollar signs . . . he just had to stay the course and continue trusting and believing in himself when others might have doubts.
“Pretty much, I went into last year just betting on myself, man, just on my hard work — all the preparation. It paid off. I went into last season just free-minded, man. Just knowing like the work I put in this (last) offseason, it’s going to show on the field and that’s what I was able to do,” Alford continued in his Zoom press conference with the local Buffalo media in early March.
“Shouts out to the coaches in Atlanta. They allowed me, you know, to just come (be) myself, and I was able to be free and just play fast and play, you know, (my) type of style, which is create turnovers, and (that’s) what I’ve always been doing. If you look up my history — whether it’s college or CFL — (I find) ways to get the ball, and I was able to do that last year. And, I feel like Coach Jim (Leonhard), you know, (is) going to allow me to do the same thing here with his scheme. Man, I’m just so fired up and just ready, you know, to show Bills Mafia what I can bring to the table.”
So, while there was certainly disappointment that came along with not earning a contract that some may have thought he should have after his first three years in the league, Alford didn’t let it affect his play on the field last season.
In 2025, despite not having much success as a team, Alford continued to shine just as he had the previous season, except this time it was a bit brighter.
The 28-year-old was a tenacious, jack-of-all-trades for the Falcons, collecting 67 total tackles, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery to go along with career-highs in pass deflections (13), tackles for loss (6), interceptions (3), and sacks (2). He started seven of 16 games.
It was truly an impeccable season from the battle-tested journeyman, and one that definitely put him on the radar amongst future NFL suitors.
And, as fate would have it, one of Alford’s best performances of the season just so happened to come against the Bills during Atlanta’s matchup with Buffalo on Monday Night Football of Week 6 last year at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
In that game, Buffalo’s newest nickel cornerback stole the show defensively, registering marks all across the stat sheet with six tackles, a season-high three pass deflections, one tackle for loss, one sack, and one interception, which came on a pass from Josh Allen just before halftime — something he said that he’ll likely remind his new teammate of when OTAs begin this spring.
The Falcons went on to shock the Bills in that game, serving the team from Western New York a 24-14 loss under the bright lights of primetime.
And although the two teams’ seasons ultimately wound up going in opposite directions following that game, it was an opportunity for Alford to remind the world that he was still here — still fighting.
“Going into that game we just knew, like, it was going to be a playoff atmosphere, you know? The Bills always had a great team, and going into that game — me, personally — (I’m thinking) it’s Monday Night Football, the whole world is watching, you know? Why not stand out and be the one that after the game people can be like, ‘Who is Dee Alford?’ You know? Just going into that game — playing a great quarterback like Josh Allen — you’ve got to be prepared,” Alford said.
“You’ve got to put in the work week in and week out, watch a little bit more film that week, you know? Different things like that. And, you know, I was — I watched a lot of film — and I was able to get my guy Josh Allen. You know, I’m going (to) joke about that in the locker room, but yeah just being prepared for that moment and, you know, going in and facing a team like the Buffalo Bills — you’ve just got to always be prepared.”
In the end, the veteran’s display of that preparation wound up impressing his new employer in the process, as well.
Now, he must carry all that he’s learned along this improbable journey with him to Orchard Park, New York, as the Bills, under new head coach Joe Brady and new defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard, are also about to embark on a journey of their own . . . one they hope ends with players and coaches hoisting the Lombardi Trophy at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, California, next year.
And, they’ve identified Alford — a former zero-star, Division-II defensive back who has played in the CFL and who has 1,711 snaps played from the slot and 230 snaps played at outside cornerback in his NFL career — as a chess piece they’d like to deploy in their quest for a championship.
Like every other time in his career, he’s up for the challenge. Just try not to doubt him this time.
The Bills certainly aren’t, and it’s a breath of fresh air for a player like Alford who’s had to scratch and claw for everything he’s earned so far in his career.
“You walk into these doors, (and) it’s like you just go into, you know, a family. It’s just everyone (is) just family-oriented. It’s so much love (and) great positive energy in the building. And, one thing (that) just stood out for me is just, you know, winning. When you hear about Buffalo Bills football — it’s all about winning — and I want to be a winner,” Alford said.
“It’s surreal, man. It’s like a surreal moment just to, you know, just (look back at) the journey that I took to get here, you know? From being, like, overlooked and not wanted, you know? And, going into free agency and — just seeing how many teams (had) interest in me and different things like that and just have that interest from Buffalo, you know, one of the top teams that (are) always, like, in the playoffs playing some great football — man, it just meant a lot to me to just hear when coaches call my agents and (are) checking in on me and stuff like that, so it means a lot, you know? Coming from where I come from to be able to be a part of a great organization like the Buffalo Bills.”
So, should the Bills’ 2026 season ultimately end with a Super Bowl title it would be the greatest love story ever told for Buffalo and its fans . . . the game falls on Valentine’s Day, after all.
And, for Alford, it would certainly be the perfect ending for a football journey worthy of a movie script — all the more reason to finish it in Hollywood.
Time to get to work.
Editor’s babble: Many thanks to John Green for his incredible contributions to our blog. You can also find John on X @JGreen_PRsports.
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