The Buffalo Bills and safety Geno Stone agreed to terms on a one-year deal, a source confirmed to ESPN’s Alaina Getzenberg on Friday.
The move further bolsters the Bills’ secondary after Buffalo signed veteran safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson on Thursday to a one-year deal worth up to $6 million, his agents told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
The Bills appear to be overhauling their safety ranks and have not re-signed any of their outgoing free agents at the position — Jordan Poyer, Damar Hamlin and Darnell Savage. Taylor Rapp, the team’s Week 1 starter last season, was cut in a cap-saving move ahead of the new league year.
Stone, 26, entered free agency following a two-year stint with the Cincinnati Bengals. He had a career-high 104 tackles, good for third on the team, last season.
Stone initially signed a two-year deal worth $7 million annually. However, he and the team reached a reworked deal that slightly reduced his salary by $1.5 million.
Stone had an up-and-down season for a defense that struggled for yet another year. But he spearheaded contributions that helped the team improve toward the back-half of the season. Through the first nine weeks of the season, the Bengals ranked last among all 32 teams in Defensive Expected Points Added on rushing plays, per ESPN Research. But in the final eight games, Cincinnati was 14th in the league in the same category.
Picked by the Baltimore Ravens in the seventh round of the 2020 draft, Stone has 312 tackles and 14 interceptions in six NFL seasons.
NFL Journalist Jordan Schultz was first to report Stone’s agreement with the Bills.
ESPN’s Ben Baby contributed to this report.
