Slot cornerback is the most recent entry on the Kansas City Chiefs' offseason shopping list. After trading away Trent McDuffie in a surprise blockbuster that sent the two-time All-Pro corner to the Los Angeles Rams for four draft choices, the Chiefs now have a serious void at cornerback overall and a specific need inside.
McDuffie is the league's most effective slot defender, so anyone who steps into the role in Kansas City will have big shoes to fill. And while the Chiefs aren't going to sign any free agent who can provide a McDuffie-like impact on the defense, they can still employ a solid defender for much less money. (Remember, McDuffie is set to earn $30 million or more annually on a forthcoming extension.)
As the Chiefs start to pull together some candidates who make sense in the slot, they can also take notice of one of the newest players to be released ahead of the new league year. The Buffalo Bills decided to part ways with veteran Taron Johnson after eight seasons with the team.
Johnson began his career in Buffalo as the team's fourth-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. From there, he carved out a long-term role in the secondary as an above-average slot defender who even earned second-team All-Pro status in 2023. Johnson has 55 career pass deflections and 7 interceptions in 128 career games between the regular season and playoffs.
The Bills decided to part ways with head coach Sean McDermott and hire Joe Brady as head coach instead, which brought changes at every level of the coaching staff. Buffalo obviously felt that Johnson wouldn't be worth the money in defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard's system. Interestingly, the Bills only save $1.9M in cap space with the release of Johnson while still taking on $9.5M in dead money.
If any team is looking for a reference for Johnson, quarterback Aaron Rodgers recently gave one on the Pat McAfee Show. Not that we'd typically listen to Rodgers' opinion about anything substantive, but his shout-out to Johnson was notable. "He's one of the most underrated players in the league. He can play a box linebacker and stop the run, and he can cover guys."
Johnson will turn 30 years old before the start of the new season, so his best days are clearly behind him. But the seasoned pro has some potential positional versatility, as Buffalo was even recently talking about a possible position change to safety for Johnson. His experience could come in handy for an otherwise very young secondary if Kansas City should decide to give him a chance to replace McDuffie.