Taron Johnson
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Bills cornerback Taron Johnson has revealed that his shoulder injury is worse than previously known.
The Buffalo Bills pulled an abrupt change of course for veteran cornerback Taron Johnson, shipping him away in a trade after having announced that he would be released.
Johnson was set to be released as part of a series of cap-saving moves, but just one day before the start of the legal tampering period of free agency, the Bills are instead sending him to the AFC West in exchange for some help in the upcoming NFL Draft.
Bills Send Nickel Cornerback to Las Vegas
As Ryan Talbot of Syracuse.com reported, the Bills will be trading Johnson to the Las Vegas Raiders in exchange for a late-round draft swap. The Raiders apparently wanted to pounce on Johnson before he had a chance to hit free agency, sending the Bills a sixth-round pick in exchange for Johnson and a seventh-round selection.
The move does not free up additional cap space, Talbot noted, but does give the Bills a $9.5 million dead cap charge and $1.9 million in cap relief.
As Christian Gonzalez of NFL.com noted, the Raiders already had a pair of sixth-round picks and the Bills will now add more picks at the back end of the draft.
“The Raiders have two sixth round draft picks (one from the New York Jets) and the Bills have two seventh round draft picks (from the Dallas Cowboys and Jets),” Gonzalez wrote. “Johnson was set to be released Friday, but the move was not made official prior to the league transaction wire’s release. The 29-year-old Johnson will now be heading to Las Vegas with the Raiders making a move for the veteran CB.”
Bills Taking New Direction on Defense
Johnson had been one of the team’s most versatile defensive backs, serving as a nickel cornerback.
“Since arriving in Buffalo as a fourth-round pick in 2018, Johnson has played a plug-and-play role for the Bills,” Gonzalez wrote. “In 2023, Johnson had a career year by playing in all 17 regular season games for Sean McDermott’s defense to help Buffalo to an 11-6 record and won the AFC East.”
Johnson turned in one of the biggest plays in recent franchise history, a 102-yard interception return for a touchdown in a divisional-round playoff win against the Baltimore Ravens in the 2020 season.
As Gonzalez added, he was still playing at a high level last year.
“In 2025, Johnson played 11 games (eight started) and recorded 57 tackles, one tackle for loss and four passes defended. Johnson’s season earned him a 60.5 overall grade from Pro Football Focus, which ranked 66th out of 114 qualified cornerbacks,” Gonzalez wrote.
The Bills have already made some big changes to their defense after firing head coach Sean McDermott and hiring Jim Leonhard as defensive coordinator. The team released a pair of other defensive backs, announcing that they would part ways with cornerback Dane Jackson and safety Taylor Rapp.
Leonhard hinted that the defense could focus on star cornerback Christian Benford next season.
“He’s going to be a big leader for this defense, and we’re going to create the scheme around players like that, the known commodities,” Leonhard said. “There are guys that you know are going to be a big piece of this, and there are others that we have to figure out what the right mix of talent and leadership is going to be. But a guy like him, who’s proven who he is, and his value to this roster. Those are the guys in mind when we set this thing up.”