91 Buffalo Bills players in 91 days: DB Te’Cory Couch

The Buffalo Bills gave up a large portion of their defensive secondary between the end of the 2023 NFL season and today. Gone are three players who started most games over the past seven seasons, plus a key reserve who stepped in when one of those players was injured.

With that in mind, the Bills will have room for some new faces in the defensive backfield this season. Some of these players were signed via free agency, and others were drafted last April. However, the Bills are known for keeping undrafted players in the defensive backfield (see Wallace, Levi and Lewis, Cam) and playing them in bigger roles if they win them. They also selected players with a lesser pedigree (Christian Benford) compared to those who were drafted early in the process (Kaiir Elam).

If there’s one position group in our “91 Players in 91 Days” feature that could see a surprise addition, it could very well be the defensive secondary. In today’s article, we feature one of the longest shots on the list: a UDFA with plenty of starting college experience.

Name: Te’Cory sofa

Number: 33

Position: Database

Size weight: 5’10”, 175 pounds

Age: 24 (25 on 06/09/2024)

Experience/Project: R; signed with Bills as a UDFA after the 2024 NFL Draft

College: Miami (FL)

Acquired: UDFA signature

Financial situation (by Spotrac): Couch signed his three-year rookie contract for more than the standard amount – his contract is worth a total of $2.85 million. That includes $70,000 in total guarantees, which would also be the dead cap amount Buffalo carries if he were released. If Couch makes the roster, he will carry a cap hit of $801,666 for the 2024 season.

2023 summary: Couch was once again a starting corner for the Hurricanes, and he had his best season in Miami as a fifth-year senior. He had a career-high 38 tackles this season, along with a career-high three interceptions. Two of those picks came in Miami’s win over Temple. He also had a career-tying seven assists on the year. Although he wasn’t invited to the NFL Scouting Combine, he posted decent numbers at the Miami Pro Day. Couch ran a 40-yard dash of 4.51 seconds, a vertical of 33 inches and a broad jump of 10’4 inches.

Positioning prospects: Couch joins a crowded secondary, but one with plenty of roles available. Rasul Douglas, Christian Benford, Kaiir Elam, Ja’Marcus Ingram, Taron Johnson, Kyron Brown, Cam Lewis, Daequan Hardy and Keni-H Lovely are others in the cornerback conversation. Couch is listed as a DB though, so perhaps the Bills are looking to see what he looks like as a free safety. The team also lists Kendall Williamson and Dee Delaney as DBs.

2024 offseason: Couch is healthy and participating in OTAs.

Outlook for the 2024 season: Of the undrafted players Buffalo has at DB in camp, I think Couch ranks a notch below Lovely in terms of overall athletic potential, although he has a leg up in terms of quality of competition he faces at college and in overall NCAA production. Both players have ground to gain over another pair of former UDFAs – Cam Lewis and Ja’Marcus Ingram – who have years of experience in the Bills system.

While almost everyone has focused on Buffalo’s wide receiver room and its deficiencies, Buffalo’s lack of depth at outside corner concerns me more. Benford is not yet healthy through a full professional season, Elam has yet to prove he can consistently earn playing time, and Douglas is about to turn 30 and managed to appear in all of his team’s games just once this decade.

So while CB4 might not be a big concern for some clubs, there’s a good chance this is a position where the Bills will need to use him. If Couch can show up in the preseason, he has a chance to be that guy, but I wouldn’t count on it. He’s likely looking for a spot on the practice squad this season.