After the trade for wide receiver D.J. Moore nine days ago, the Buffalo Bills began Monday’s unofficial start to the 2026 NFL offseason a bit slow, coming to an agreement with just two outside free agents through the first two days of the league’s legal tampering period.
However, since the beginning of the new year at 4 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Bills’ President of Football Operations and General Manager Brandon Beane has been slightly more active, bagging big names like EDGE Bradley Chubb and safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson to free-agent deals and providing much-needed firepower on the defensive side of the ball.
And, on Friday evening as many of you were either sitting down at the dinner table or bellying up to the bar after a long day of work, “Big Baller Beane” or “Bargain Bin Beane” — whichever moniker you prefer — continued to piece together this year’s iteration of the team, inking former Cincinnati Bengals veteran safety Geno Stone to a one-year contract.
Terms of the deal were not immediately disclosed.
Originally a 2020 seventh-round pick of the Baltimore Ravens out of the University of Iowa, Stone has spent the last two years in Cincinnati after signing a two-year, $15 million deal with the team in free agency following a 2023 season in which he made 11 starts for the Ravens and led all NFL safeties with seven interceptions and was just second in the entire league in that stat category behind Dallas Cowboys’ cornerback DaRon Bland that season.
It was the most time that Stone had spent on the field up until that point in his young career as the former Hawkeye started just eight games over his first three years while appearing in a total of 34 games in that same time span.
That all changed once he was with the Bengals, however, as the prized free-agent signing started 34-of-34 games during his time along the Ohio-Kentucky border, collecting 185 tackles, 10 pass deflections, eight quarterback hits, six interceptions, two sacks, two defensive touchdowns, and one fumble recovery.
And while the defense and team as a whole may not have had as much success as Stone or the Bengals would have hoped for, there’s no denying that the soon-to-be 27-year-old still displayed plenty of talent and playmaking ability like he showed during his breakout campaign three seasons ago.
In 2025 alone, the 5-foot-11, 210-pound versatile defensive back managed to produce a career-high in tackles (104), tackles for loss (4), quarterback hits (4), and sacks (2), while still tallying two interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown.
For his career, the New Castle, Pennsylvania, native has 312 total tackles, 21 pass deflections, and 14 interceptions — including 13 over the last three seasons — as well as nine quarterback hits, two fumble recoveries, and one forced fumble.
So, with all that said, it’s rather apparent that the Bills just inserted a very solid player into their secondary with the addition of Stone, and with the terms of the contract not immediately released, the deal for his services is probably at a very reasonable price.
And although the team just signed fellow veteran safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson to a one-year deal the day prior, there’s always going to be room for talent in an NFL locker room.
You can never have enough depth.
Coming off a year in which the Bills struggled to find a counterpart for Cole Bishop in the backend of the defense for a majority of the season — shuffling between Taylor Rapp, Jordan Poyer, Jordan Hancock, and even Darnell Savage Jr. for a short spell — the recent depth that has been added to the secondary this offseason is likely a sight for sore eyes amongst the fanbase.
It’s unclear what exactly Stone’s role will be yet, especially considering the presence of Bishop and Gardner-Johnson, but that’s not a bad problem to have for Buffalo’s new defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard.
Stone has played 2,593 snaps at deep free safety, 734 snaps in the box at strong safety, and 289 snaps from the slot in his six seasons, and that versatility will be a welcomed chess piece to use alongside the likes of Bishop, Gardner-Johnson, and even new nickel cornerback Dee Alford, whom the Bills also added to their secondary by way of free agency this offseason.
Stone has yet to meet with the media, but should he do so it might help give everyone a little bit better of an idea on just what Buffalo’s vision is for their newest safety.
With that said, make sure to stay glued to the Buffalo Fambase blog for any and all news surrounding the Bills as the days drag on toward the start of the offseason program at the beginning of April.
Editor’s babble: A big thank you to John Green for all his contributions to our blog. You can also find John on X @JGreen_PRsports.
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