July 17, 2025: The Buffalo Bills head into the 2025 season with a solid, well-rounded roster—but one area still raises some eyebrows: safety. Despite selecting Cole Bishop in the second round and Jordan Hancock in the fifth during recent drafts, depth remains a concern. Damar Hamlin and Taylor Rapp offer reliability, but the group lacks a proven veteran leader.
That’s where Tyrann Mathieu, the veteran safety currently with the New Orleans Saints, enters the conversation. Bleacher Report’s Matt Holder suggests that Buffalo should make a play for the 33-year-old defensive back. “The Bills are one of the few teams with a near-complete roster,” Holder wrote. “But safety remains a question mark. If the Saints are open to trading Mathieu, Buffalo should make the call.”
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Mathieu, known as the “Honey Badger,” is no stranger to Buffalo. He helped lead the Kansas City Chiefs to a Super Bowl win and was part of two postseason victories over the Bills during his tenure there. While he’s not quite the dominant force he once was, Mathieu is still a high-performing safety when in form—ranked among the league’s best by Pro Football Focus after the 2023 season.
His 2024 performance was more average, but a change of scenery and a playoff-hungry team like the Bills could reignite his game. If traded, Mathieu would likely start alongside Bishop, bringing leadership and veteran savvy to a unit that has been the Bills’ Achilles heel in recent playoff runs.
Financially, the trade wouldn’t be easy. The Saints would take on over $9 million in dead cap for 2025, and Buffalo doesn’t have much wiggle room under their own cap. However, a late-round draft pick—perhaps a sixth or seventh—might be enough to get a deal done, especially if Buffalo finds a creative way to manage the financials.
The Bills have all the pieces for a championship run. Now the question is: do they add the Honey Badger to complete the puzzle?