Buffalo Rumblings
After an inactive postseason, does last year’s primary return man still have a spot on the roster?
The Buffalo Bills swung a trade with a division rival at the end of the preseason last year, acquiring a rookie return man who would become a pleasant surprise. Having a return man who is capable of breaking a big play at any moment is a true luxury, and given the success the Bills had on offense, that success on special teams sometimes helped to combine for an unstoppable scoring force in red, white, and blue.
In today’s installment of “90 players in 90 days,” we discuss that second-year return specialist — a player who had a great regular season, but was absent from Buffalo’s playoff run.
Name: Brandon Codrington
Number: 29
Position: CB/RET
Height/Weight: 5’9” 185 lbs.
Age: 24 (25 on 11/17/2025)
Experience/Draft: 2; signed with the New York Jets following the 2024 NFL Draft
College: North Carolina Central
Acquired: Via trade — Buffalo sent a 2026 sixth-round choice in exchange for Codrington and a 2026 seventh-round pick.
Financial situation (per Spotrac): Codrington enters the second year of his three-year rookie deal, a pact worth $2.83 million overall. For the 2025 season, Codrington’s cap hit is $960,000. There are no guarantees on the deal, meaning that Buffalo could release him without a cap penalty at any time.
2024 Recap: Codrington signed with the Jets after going undrafted last season, and he spent the entire preseason wearing green. He had seven tackles and a pass breakup on defense during the preseason, but his primary role was as a return specialist. He had two kickoff returns for a total of 75 yards, including a 63-yard return as his long. When returning punts, Codrington averaged 13.8 yards per return on six tries with a long of 31 yards.
The Jets dealt him to the Bills on final cutdown day, and Codrington became Buffalo’s primary return man for the season. In 17 regular-season games, Codrington averaged 27.8 yards per kick return on 11 tries with a long of 53 yards, and he averaged 11.6 yards per punt return on 27 tries with a long of 29 yards.
When the Bills were in blowout mode, Codrington subbed, albeit poorly, on defense, totaling nine tackles and a pass breakup. He was targeted 13 times, allowing 10 completions for 67 yards and two scores.
In the playoffs, Codrington was inactive for all three games, as the Bills used running backs Ty Johnson and Ray Davis to return kickoffs and wideout Khalil Shakir to return punts. Codrington did suffer a hamstring injury in the regular-season finale against the New England Patriots, which led to his relegation against the Denver Broncos during Super Wild Card Weekend, but he didn’t have the injury designation in either of Buffalo’s final two contests. For his efforts, Codrington was named to the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA) All-Rookie Team.
Positional outlook: The Bills have added plenty of competition both at corner and at...
