ORCHARD PARK — When Jordan Hancock answered a FaceTime from Bobby Babich Tuesday, there was another face on the call with the Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator — one that has an All-Pro selection on his record.
Jordan Poyer.
The message to the rookie safety was succinct: Poyer can help, so listen.
After a year in Miami, the Bills reunited with Poyer, who signed to the practice squad and has seven seasons in Buffalo under belt. Poyer has played 171 games over 12 seasons, including 107 starts with the Bills, but he is returning to be a mentor to young players and an insurance policy if he’s needed to play.
The Bills did the same for rookie Cole Bishop last year, bringing Micah Hyde back to the practice squad for the final two months of the season. Poyer is more likely to see game action during the season than Hyde, who never suited up last year.
But the Bills aren’t bringing Poyer back to resume his old role in the secondary. His main function is to help younger safeties like Bishop and Hancock find their footing in the NFL.
“He’s a resource and I’m going to use that resource,” Hancock told GNN Sports. “He came to help young dudes like me, so it’s going to be really easy to learn from. And he’s going to make my development process speed up.”
Poyer didn’t participate in a training camp since entering the league in 2013 after being released by the Dolphins. He spent cutdown day on a jetski with his daughter in the Atlantic Ocean, but was back in his familiar No. 21 jersey by time practice started Wednesday.
Once Poyer was released by Miami in March, he started having conversations with the Bills. Those talks resumed again during training camp and they finally reached an agreement, officially signing Wednesday.
Poyer’s final season with the Bills was uneven and he was released in March 2023 with one year left on his contract. His one season away was a struggle, not only for Poyer, but for the Dolphins, who floundered to an 8-9 season after many predicted them to win the AFC East going into the season.
And while Poyer, 34, is willing to mentor younger players and understands his role with the team, he made it clear that he wants to contribute on the field at some point this season.
“I’m not getting any younger, I understand that. But at the same time, I still feel like I have gas left in the tank,” Poyer said. “Last year, put an asterisk by it. It was a tough year all around. … I still feel like I got a lot left to prove — to myself, to this game, to the people around me. And I keep the receipts.”
Jordan Phillips offered a similar sentiment Wednesday after he also signed to the practice squad for his fourth stint with the Bills. The defensive tackle will be 33 in less than a month, but still feels he has more quality football left.
Phillips said he had other teams contact him, but he regularly spoke with Beane and kept his word from the end of last season that he was going to play for the Bills this year or retire.
Phillips made only five tackles in seven games after signing with the Bills midway through last season and hasn’t played a full season since 2019. But with Larry Ogunjobi set to serve a six-game suspension, the Bills will rely heavily on second-year defensive tackle DeWayne Carter and rookies T.J. Sanders and Deone Walker.
“This team is going to do great things and when you have young guys like we drafted, you have to have somebody who can help lead,” Phillips said. “Me and Deone are pretty much the same body type. It’s different when a coach tells you that you need to get lower or this, that or the other thing, but when I’ve done it for so many years being pretty much the same size, it’s a lot easier.”
Poyer and Phillips might be the most familiar names, but the Bills used their six available veteran spots on the practice squad in a calculated way. The Bills have signed veterans like Josh Norman, Leonard Fournette and A.J. Klein to the practice squad in the past, but never to the extent of this year’s team.
Eight of the 17 players have never played a regular-season game, but their six veterans have a combined 591 games of experience. Dane Jackson, Poyer and Phillips have appeared in 220 games with the Bills, while guard Dan Feeney, safety Sam Franklin and center Kendrick Green have started a combined 93 games in the league.
Not only can they help younger players, but they can help the Bills in a pinch. Teams are allowed to call up two practice squad players per game and each player is allotted three call-ups per season and an unlimited number during the postseason.
“We don’t want to stunt anyone’s growth, we don’t want to pass on anyone,” Bills general manager Brandon Beane said. “In baseball you’ve got some prospect that’s throwing 95 and some team trades for a 38-year-old for three months. You wouldn’t want to do something like that, but I think those are the decisions that we are weighing.”