The Buffalo Bills are giving a boost to a secondary that is in desperate need of it as the club is signing veteran cornerback Xavier Rhodes to a deal, according to the NFL Network. The three-time Pro Bowler visited with the team on Tuesday and is now primed to deepen a unit that has been decimated by injuries throughout the early portions of the year.
Buffalo recently lost star safety Micah Hyde for the season due to a neck injury and has also been dealing with injuries to corners Tre'Davious White, Dane Jackson, and Christian Benford. In last week's loss to Miami, All-Pro safety Jordan Poyer was held out due to a foot injury, so this Super Bowl contender is awfully banged up in the secondary.
While this will be Rhodes' first run with the Bills, he does have familiarity with the organization thanks to assistant head coach and defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier. Rhodes played under Frazier back in 2013 during Frazier's final season as head coach of the Vikings.
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Since coming into the league as a first-round draft choice out of Flordia State, Rhodes has put together a productive career. During his tenure in Minnesota, he was named to the Pro Bowl three times and earned an All-Pro nod in 2017. More recently, Rhodes has been in Indianapolis with the Colts. Over the last two seasons in Indy, he started in 29 games and tallied 19 pass breakups and three interceptions.
The 32-year-old was released by the Colts back in March.
