Extension season continues for the Buffalo Bills, who have given a new long-term contract to cornerback Christian Benford.
Benford’s agents, Hadley Engelhard and Jim Ulrich, told ESPN’s Adam Schefter their client agreed to a four-year, $76 million extension with the Bills on Saturday.
No team has been busier this offseason in terms of extending their own guys than the Bills.
Benford is the fifth different player who has received a new contract in the past five weeks. Josh Allen (six years, $330 million), Greg Rousseau (four years, $80 million), Khalil Shakir (four years, $53.1 million) and Terrel Bernard (four years, $42.1 million) are the others who got paid.
Rousseau, Shakir, Bernard and Benford all got their extensions before the final season of their rookie contracts.
Getting all of these deals done early allows the Bills long-term financial flexibility since they know what their cap is going to look like for many of their key players and could make adjustments to any of them as needed.
Benford is a terrific developmental success story for the Bills. The 24-year-old was a sixth-round pick out of Villanova in 2022. He appeared in nine games as a rookie, making five starts.
The Bills made Benford a starting cornerback to open the 2023 season. He led the team with 10 passes defensed in 15 games, but a knee injury kept him out of the AFC Divisional Round loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
In his second year as a full-time starter in 2024, Benford had a breakout season that earned him a down-ballot vote for Defensive Player of the Year. He ranked first among all cornerbacks with 0.51 yards allowed per coverage snap.
Given where the market for cornerbacks this offseason with Derek Stingley Jr. and Jaycee Horn becoming the two highest-paid players at the position, the Bills locking in an ascending star like Benford on a deal paying him $19 million annually has the potential to age very well.
