The Bills know that a rookie will be starting at cornerback in place of Tre’Davious White when they face the Rams in Los Angeles on Thursday night, but they aren’t ready to say which one.
Head coach Sean McDermott declined to anoint first-round pick Kaiir Elam or sixth-round pick Christian Benford as the starter opposite Dane Jackson. White is on the physically unable to perform list and must miss at least four weeks as a result of going on that list. Elam is listed with the first team on the team’s website, but McDermott stressed that no official call has been made and said the team isn’t just blowing smoke in order to try for a competitive advantage.
“Probably a little bit of both,” McDermott said, via Katherine Fitzgerald of the Buffalo News. “We’re still working through that. And I’ll tell you what, those two young players have worked extremely hard. And this, again, trying to do right by them and our team first and foremost. And then, if it becomes a competitive advantage, it becomes a competitive advantage. But that’s not really the intent to why we’re doing it.”
Both rookies are likely to play a good amount as the Bills try to slow down the Rams’ passing game, but the first man up won’t be known until Thursday night.
