The Buffalo Bills are moving on from longtime starting nickelback Taron Johnson, releasing the veteran defensive back as the team works to become salary-cap compliant before the start of the new league year, a source told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.
The move saves Buffalo about $1.9 million in cap space. The Bills are not designating Johnson as a post–June 1 release, which would have created nearly $7 million in additional savings.
Johnson, 29, had been a key part of Buffalo’s defense since being selected in the fourth round of the 2018 NFL Draft, the first draft class under general manager Brandon Beane. Over the past several seasons, he established himself as one of the league’s most reliable nickel corners.
Under former head coach Sean McDermott, the Bills relied heavily on nickel packages. Since 2020, Buffalo has lined up in nickel defense 83.4 percent of the time—more than any team in the NFL—with Johnson playing a major role in that approach.
However, the team is transitioning to a new defensive philosophy under coordinator Jim Leonhard, shifting from a 4–3 base scheme to a 3–4. The change played a part in Buffalo’s decision to move on from Johnson.
Leonhard said last month that he had spoken with Johnson about the potential for a role change in the new defense.
“He’s been an extremely productive player in the NFL,” Leonhard said at the time. “Now it’s about finding the best match between some of the things I’ve done in the past and what they did really well to feature a player like that.”
Johnson leaves Buffalo after several impactful seasons, highlighted by one of the most memorable plays in franchise postseason history—a 101-yard interception return for a touchdown against the Baltimore Ravens during the 2020 playoffs.
