Bills report: Strategy and personnel
DEFENSIVE BACKS
Starters - RCB Nate Clements, LCB Terrence McGee, SS Lawyer Milloy, FS Troy Vincent. Backups - CB Jabari Greer, CB Eric King, SS Coy Wire, FS Rashad Baker, FS Jim Leonhard, CB Kevin Thomas (injured).
Clements enters the off-season as the top free-agent corner on the market and it will be difficult for the Bills to meet his goal of becoming the NFL's highest paid player at his position. Buffalo could slap the franchise tag on him and buy some time. Clements, who played every game like it was an audition for 32 teams, finished with 125 tackles and two interceptions, giving him 20 for his young career. But he was inconsistent and beaten on the deep ball too frequently for someone hoping for a $10 million to $12 million signing bonus. If Buffalo loses Clements, look for Greer, King and possibly Thomas to replace him. Thomas hopes to come back from microfracture knee surgery that cost him his season. Emerging star McGee has a firm hold on the left corner job, tying Vincent for the team lead in interceptions with four. Vincent, who will be 35 next season, and Milloy, who turns 33, were busy men last season, chipping in 101 and 169 tackles, respectively, backing up Buffalo's porous front seven. Longtime stars in the league, each has lost a step but the Bills do not have anybody on the roster better to replace them, and each is under contract. Vincent's deal, in fact, runs through 2008.