Buffalo Bills Cutting Leodis McKelvin Will Have Minimal Impact On Defensive Success

Today, the Buffalo Bills officially decided to part ways with one their longtime veterans, cornerback Leodis McKelvin. McKelvin has been with the Bills since they selected him out of Troy in the first round of the 2008 NFL Draft. The move will save the team almost $4 million in salary cap space and they will likely not miss a beat without McKelvin.

The truth about McKelvin is that he is a solid starting cornerback when he can stay healthy. Unfortunately, he has had trouble doing that over the past couple of seasons, as he has missed a total of 16 games during that time. When he has been on the field, he has had a positive impact, and he was actually able to record four interceptions prior to his injury in 2014.

However, the Bills could not afford to keep him due to the current construction of their roster. Heading into the 2015 season, McKelvin was the team’s No. 2 cornerback, but that quickly changed after his injury. Stephon Gilmore improved and became a true No. 1 corner while rookie Ronald Darby proved that he was an elite starter across from Gilmore. The duo combined to defend 39 passes and they were unbreakable at times. The emergence of the two pushed McKelvin down the depth chart until he was the fourth cornerback behind nickel back Nickell Robey.

Since McKelvin was not going to move back up the depth chart, the Bills essentially had to release him. He is a 30-year-old player with health issues who was due to make roughly $4 million in 2016. There was no reason to keep him around, especially given that they might be bringing in veteran Antonio Cromartie if he and Rex Ryan can work out a deal. Unless the team wanted to move McKelvin to safety, there really was no point in keeping him.

While it will be tough to see McKelvin don another team’s uniform, he really did not have a place on the Bills anymore. He was merely a depth player and he deserves a chance at playing on a team where he can start. The Bills will miss McKelvin’s presence, but they will not miss his ability on the field too much given their elite young talent.