After a year spent on the practice squad, does the return man-slash-slot corner have a better shot at the 53-man roster this time around?
The Buffalo Bills spent plenty of resources upgrading their defensive backfield this offseason. The team signed two veteran cornerbacks, both of whom are familiar faces, and drafted three players who play corner, as well. This signifies that the team wants more out of its defensive backfield, which really could be said about the team’s desires for its defense as a whole.
With all of these new upgrades, it’s definitely a shot across the bow for some of the holdovers from last season. While the Bills are sure to have a few players maintain their 2024 roles in 2025, it does cast doubt on the prospects of some of last year’s fringe players making the club this year.
In our latest edition of “90 players in 90 days,” we discuss a slot corner who showed flashes of brilliance last preseason as a punt returner.
Name: Daequan Hardy
Number: 25
Position: CB
Height/Weight: 5’9”, 178 pounds
Age: 24 (25 on 6/13/2026)
Experience/Draft: 1; selected by Buffalo in the sixth round (No. 219 overall) of the 2024 NFL Draft
College: Penn State
Acquired: Sixth-round draft choice
Financial situation (per Spotrac): Hardy signed a reserve/futures contract with the Bills at the conclusion of the 2024 NFL season. That two-year deal is worth $1,853,500 overall. For the 2025 season, if Hardy makes the 53-man roster, he’ll count $844,250 against the salary cap. If he’s released, the Bills will be on the hook for a dead-cap charge of $8,500 this season.
2024 Recap: After the Bills chose him in the sixth round of the draft, Hardy appeared in three preseason games for Buffalo. He totaled seven tackles, including one tackle for loss, and had three pass breakups.
Given that he’s a slot corner, the Bills weren’t really looking to use him on defense — that job was Taron Johnson’s, with Cam Lewis slotted in as the backup — but Hardy’s experience as a returner was billed as something to watch. He returned two kickoffs, averaging 20.5 yards per return, but he was particularly successful as a punt returner. Hardy returned five punts, averaging 12.5 yards per return with a long of 31 yards.
It looked like he had an inside angle on the job as the team’s primary return man; however, on the same day that the Bills acquired cornerback/returner Brandon Codrington in a trade from the New York Jets, they released Hardy, choosing instead to add him to the practice squad. That’s where he remained for the duration of the season, as he was not called up and did not appear in a game last year.
Positional outlook: Hardy is one of quite a few corners on the 90-man roster. Christian Benford, Ja’Marcus Ingram, Dane Jackson, Dorian Strong, Tre’Davious White, Te’Cory Couch, Jordan Hancock, and Daryl Porter are the other outside corners. Taron Johnson and Cam Lewis are the other slot corners. Codrington played outside in blowouts last season, but his main role was as the returner.
2025 Offseason: Hardy has been with the team for all offseason work to date.
2025 Season outlook: I can’t see a way that Hardy makes the 53-man roster this year. If he couldn’t break in last year with a strong preseason as the returner, he’s not likely to break into the top part of the depth chart this year now that the Bills have made a concerted effort to upgrade at the position.
However, he could prove himself invaluable as a special teamer to the point where the Bills decide that he should be their top return man. For that, he’d have to beat out Codrington — who also is by no means a lock for the roster — as well as a rookie or two. It’s likely another year on the practice squad for Hardy unless he goes elsewhere after final roster cuts in August.