Bills finally pull off an extension for lockdown cornerback Christian Benford

The Buffalo Bills kicked off their free agency period by extending multiple of their own players that they have drafted over the years. First, it was Khalil Shakir, then both linebacker Terrel Bernard and edge rusher Greg Rousseau also received deals of their own. All three of them got four-year extensions, keeping them tied to Western New York for the foreseeable future.

Now, Brandon Beane has struck another extension from a member of the 2022 draft class. Cornerback Christian Benford, who was a steal in the 6th round in 2022 for the Bills has agreed to stay in Buffalo on a four-year deal worth $76 million, per Adam Schefter.

The Bills continue to show that they believe in their draft picks and are willing to find a way to keep them as part of the future in Buffalo. Drafted out of Villanova, Benford didn’t look like he would be anything more than a backup and potentially a rotational player for Buffalo’s secondary.

Instead, he not only beat out Buffalo’s 2022 first-round pick Kaiir Elam for playing time, but he became the Bills’ best cornerback on the roster. Now he gets rewarded with a great extension.

The Bills are getting Benford for $19 million per season, per Thad Brown, which is actually kind of cheap when you look at some of the other contracts that other corners have received. Carolina Panthers’ corner Jaycee Horn got a four-year, $100 million extension which is just ridiculous.