The Buffalo Bills kicked off the 2026 offseason festivities yesterday by making an aggressive trade for Chicago Bears’ wide receiver D.J. Moore, swapping their second-round pick this year in exchange for Chicago’s fifth-round pick and the rights to obtain Moore’s services throughout 2028, sending shockwaves throughout the NFL community in the process.
Buffalo didn’t stop there, though, as the team’s transactions continued in spades on Friday with the news that the Bills will be releasing longtime nickel cornerback Taron Johnson, as well as safety Taylor Rapp, wide receiver Curtis Samuel, and cornerback Dane Jackson when the new league year opens up next Wednesday at 4 p.m. ET.
While the moves to release Rapp, Samuel, and Jackson were widely expected, as the three combined save the team roughly $10.2 million on the cap next year, the release of Johnson was a bit more of a shocker at first glance.
The idea of his release was certainly floated around this offseason, but, given the fact that the former fourth-round pick has been a staple in Buffalo’s secondary since being drafted in 2018, the notion that Brandon Beane would actually pull the trigger and move on from his former draft selection was often scoffed at.
Apparently, it shouldn’t have been.
Entering the NFL out of little known Weber State in the same draft class as MVP quarterback Josh Allen, Johnson has had nearly as great of an impact on the defensive side of the ball as Allen has had on the offense for Buffalo, and that’s not being hyperbolic.
The 5-foot-11, 193-pound nickelback has always played a tenacious brand of football since entering the league, which allowed Buffalo to be a bit of a trend-setter throughout the NFL in the past few seasons as former head coach Sean McDermott often decided to keep the Bills in nickel defensive packages — even when opposing offenses wanted to bring in their heavier personnel — believing in Johnson’s ability as a physical tackler while at the same time not needing to sacrifice any coverage ability.
More often than not Johnson answered the call, tallying 572 tackles, 48 pass deflections, 23 tackles for loss, eight sacks, eight forced fumbles, and three fumble recoveries in 113 regular season games played, which included 87 starts.
The eight-year veteran has 12 postseason starts in his career, as well, where he posted 69 combined tackles, seven pass deflections, five tackles for loss, one forced fumble, and one interception, which of course was his 101-yard interception return for a touchdown against the Baltimore Ravens back in the 2020 divisional round that helped propel the Bills to their first AFC Championship game appearance in more than 27 years at the time.
The soon-to-be 30-year-old appeared in just 13 games in 2026 — the third-lowest total of his career — but, there’s no denying he should still have a healthy market for his services, likely with a contending team.
And while it’s never easy to say goodbye to a longtime member of your team, the move was probably the best for both sides, especially considering Johnson was an excellent fit in McDermott’s scheme, but may have been a bit miscast in Jim Leonhard’s new scheme due to his age and diminishing athletic ability.
The release, which is immediate and not designated as a post-June 1st cut, will save the Bills roughly $1.9 million on this year’s cap, while carrying a $9.5 million dead-cap hit this season.
As for Samuel, the former second-round pick out of Ohio State finished his tenure with Buffalo with just 38 receptions for 334 yards and two touchdowns in 20 regular-season appearances, while adding seven receptions for 83 yards and two touchdowns on 11 targets in four games in the postseason. The 5-foot-11, 195-pound wideout signed a three-year, $24 million deal with the Bills in 2024 after spending the first seven years of his career with the Carolina Panthers and Washington Commanders.
Meanwhile, Rapp finished last season on injured reserve following a knee injury suffered in training camp, which lingered into the season and hindered his play before the former 2019 second-round pick of the Los Angeles Rams ultimately wound up needing surgery to fix the issue in October. Rapp played three seasons with the Bills after signing as a free agent during the 2023 offseason, finishing his time in Buffalo with 158 tackles, eight pass deflections, three interceptions, three tackles for loss, and one forced fumble in 36 games played in the regular season, while adding three tackles, one pass deflection, and one interception in two postseason starts for the Bills.
Jackson, a former 2020 seventh-round pick of the Bills, has also played for the Carolina Panthers so far in his six-year career, amassing 178 total tackles, 30 pass deflections, three interceptions, two forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery in 64 games played. The 29-year-old has appeared in just 12 games between Carolina and Buffalo in the last two seasons.
Buffalo now has a major holes to fill in the secondary in the absence of Johnson and Rapp, and the team could certainly look to add another wide receiver to its group after the release of Samuel despite already adding D.J. Moore via trade yesterday.
Things will only continue to heat up as we quickly approach the official beginning of the offseason next week, so make sure to stay glued to the Buffalo Fambase page for any and all news regarding the Bills.
Editor’s babble: Many thanks to John Green for his contributions to our blog. You can also find John on X @JGreen_PRsports.
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