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Buffalo Bills Linked to Patrick Mahomes Rival Safety
Buffalo Bills Linked to Patrick Mahomes Rival Safety originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The Buffalo Bills have been bounced by the Kansas City Chiefs in four of the last five NFL playoffs. The Chiefs have been a massive thorn in Buffalo's side since Buffalo has returned to contention. 2024 was no different, as the Bills took a heartbreaking AFC Championship loss to the Chiefs.
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One major area for concern for the Bills in 2025 is the safety group. NFL Trade Rumors' Ethan Woodle examined potential landing spots for one of the top safety's still on the market in Justin Simmons, and Woodle thinks Simmons could truly elevate Buffalo's defense.
"Safety remains a question mark, however." Woodle wrote. "The trio of Damar Hamlin, Taylor Rapp and Cole Bishop made for one of the worst safety groups in the league last season, with Hamlin and Bishop ranking outside the top 80 safeties in PFF grade. Rapp was the highest graded of the three, with a 57.7 grade that ranked just 75th overall. If the Bills' defense is to take a step forward this year, they need to play better on the back end."
Simmons is a two-time Pro Bowl selection in his nine-year NFL career. Simmons has tallied multiple interceptions in each season of his career, including an NFL-leading six in 2022. Perhaps most impressively, six of Simmons' 32 career interceptions have been off of Patrick Mahomes, who has thrown 74 interceptions in his career, and none against Buffalo in the playoffs.
Simmons is coming off of his lone NFL season with the Atlanta Falcons after spending the first eight years of his career with the Denver Broncos. It was a down year for Simmons, but Woodle still believes Simmons would be an immense upgrade in the room.
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"Even though Simmons is coming off a down year, he'd still be the best safety on the Bills' roster." Woodle wrote. "Buffalo has worked to get younger on defense over the last year or so, but they still need production from those young players. Simmons wouldn't command a major financial commitment, and he'd be available on a one-year deal. The Bills could sign him to start this year and let him walk next year quite easily."
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This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 2, 2025, where it first appeared.
