Alaina GetzenbergMar 6, 2026, 01:43 PM ET
- Alaina Getzenberg covers the Buffalo Bills for ESPN. She joined ESPN in 2021. Alaina was previously a beat reporter for the Charlotte Observer and has also worked for CBS Sports and the Dallas Morning News. She is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley.
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Buffalo Bills, as part of their efforts to get cap compliant before the start of the new league year, released veteran nickel corner Taron Johnson, wide receiver Curtis Samuel, safety Taylor Rapp and cornerback Dane Jackson on Friday.
The combined moves will save the Bills just over $12 million in cap space (about $6 million from Samuel, $1.9 million from Johnson, under $3.1 million from Rapp and $1.2 million from Jackson).
The team will not be designating Johnson as a post-June 1 release, a source said. If they had done so, the Bills would have saved almost $7 million more but not until June.
The releases come in the wake of the Bills trading for Samuel's former Carolina Panthers teammate DJ Moore on Thursday.
Moving on from Johnson is one of the first significant moves as the Bills shift into a different defensive philosophy -- from a 4-3 base to a 3-4 -- under new coordinator Jim Leonhard. Under former Bills coach Sean McDermott for the past eight seasons, Johnson developed into the team's starting nickel cornerback.
Johnson, 29, was part of president of football operations and general manager Brandon Beane's first draft class in Buffalo, selected in the fourth round in 2018. He cemented his role as a starter in 2020 after being benched during the season. Since 2020, no team has been in nickel more often than the Bills (83.4%), with a part of that due to Johnson's performance.
He will always be remembered in Buffalo for his 101-yard pick-six against the Baltimore Ravens in the 2020 postseason.
Leonhard said last month that he had spoken with Johnson and that he was excited about a potential change in position.
"He knows that we're going to communicate with him," Leonhard said, "and find out what's right because he's been an extremely productive player in the NFL, and now it's trying to find out what the best match of some of the things that I've done in the past and what they did really well to feature a player like that."
The decision was reached, however, that Johnson's $11.4 million cap hit did not match his anticipated playing time on the field with the new unit. His departure only increases the team's need to add a player who can help in the secondary, including in a safety/nickel hybrid role.
Samuel's time with the Bills (2024-25) was riddled with injuries and not much success when on the field. He played in 20 regular-season games and caught 38 passes for 334 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 14 yards on five carries.
Rapp, 28, played three seasons with the Bills, appearing in 36 games with 24 starts. His final season, which he began as one of the team's starters, came to an early end due to an injury to his right knee that initially took place during training camp. He had a medial meniscus repair and said in January his rehab was going well.
Jackson returned to the Bills in 2025 after a year with the Panthers. He spent most of last season on the practice squad but appeared in three regular-season and the team's two postseason games.
