After an inactive postseason, does last year’s primary return man still have a spot on the roster?
The Buffalo Bills swung a trade with a division rival at the end of the preseason last year, acquiring a rookie return man who would become a pleasant surprise. Having a return man who is capable of breaking a big play at any moment is a true luxury, and given the success the Bills had on offense, that success on special teams sometimes helped to combine for an unstoppable scoring force in red, white, and blue.
In today’s installment of “90 players in 90 days,” we discuss that second-year return specialist — a player who had a great regular season, but was absent from Buffalo’s playoff run.
Name: Brandon Codrington
Number: 29
Position: CB/RET
Height/Weight: 5’9” 185 lbs.
Age: 24 (25 on 11/17/2025)
Experience/Draft: 2; signed with the New York Jets following the 2024 NFL Draft
College: North Carolina Central
Acquired: Via trade — Buffalo sent a 2026 sixth-round choice in exchange for Codrington and a 2026 seventh-round pick.
Financial situation (per Spotrac): Codrington enters the second year of his three-year rookie deal, a pact worth $2.83 million overall. For the 2025 season, Codrington’s cap hit is $960,000. There are no guarantees on the deal, meaning that Buffalo could release him without a cap penalty at any time.
2024 Recap: Codrington signed with the Jets after going undrafted last season, and he spent the entire preseason wearing green. He had seven tackles and a pass breakup on defense during the preseason, but his primary role was as a return specialist. He had two kickoff returns for a total of 75 yards, including a 63-yard return as his long. When returning punts, Codrington averaged 13.8 yards per return on six tries with a long of 31 yards.
The Jets dealt him to the Bills on final cutdown day, and Codrington became Buffalo’s primary return man for the season. In 17 regular-season games, Codrington averaged 27.8 yards per kick return on 11 tries with a long of 53 yards, and he averaged 11.6 yards per punt return on 27 tries with a long of 29 yards.
When the Bills were in blowout mode, Codrington subbed, albeit poorly, on defense, totaling nine tackles and a pass breakup. He was targeted 13 times, allowing 10 completions for 67 yards and two scores.
In the playoffs, Codrington was inactive for all three games, as the Bills used running backs Ty Johnson and Ray Davis to return kickoffs and wideout Khalil Shakir to return punts. Codrington did suffer a hamstring injury in the regular-season finale against the New England Patriots, which led to his relegation against the Denver Broncos during Super Wild Card Weekend, but he didn’t have the injury designation in either of Buffalo’s final two contests. For his efforts, Codrington was named to the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA) All-Rookie Team.
Positional outlook: The Bills have added plenty of competition both at corner and at the return specialist spot. Even though Codrington played outside corner in blowouts, he’s likely best suited to play the slot given his size limitations.
Buffalo’s current corner group includes Maxwell Hairston, Christian Benford, Dane Jackson, Tre’Davious White, Te’Cory Couch, Dorian Strong, Jordan Hancock, Taron Johnson, Cam Lewis, Ja’Marcus Ingram, Daequan Hardy, and Daryl Porter. Hardy will also factor into the return specialist competition, as will running backs Johnson and Davis. I doubt the team will use its top receiver to return punts in the regular season, but the Bills did sign Laviska Shenault Jr. this offseason. K.J. Hamler will likely see time as a returner, as well.
2025 Offseason: Codrington is healthy and participated in offseason work.
2025 Season outlook: It’s hard to say exactly what the Bills will do with Codrington, who showed himself to be an explosive returner and a pretty terrible corner last season. Buffalo has upgraded significantly at the latter position, and the former spot was handled well by other people in the postseason and the team added one of the NFL’s better kickoff returners in Shenault Jr.
What will be their direction with their 2024 primary return specialist this year? Codrington will have every opportunity to stake claim to the gig this summer, and it wouldn’t surprise me if they keep him and Shenault Jr., splitting their duties to the roles they perform best.
Codrington is a good kickoff returner and an excellent punt returner, and the opposite is true for Shenault Jr. Given some of the rule changes impacting kickoffs that have already become permanent (the dynamic kickoff rules) and some others that may come down the pike (Will the league place kickoffs on touchbacks at the 30-yard line rather than the 35? Will they keep the kickoff at the 35-yard line or move it back to the 30?), the importance of a strong return game cannot be understated.
If Codrington can show any improvement at all on defense, I believe it makes him close to a roster lock. If he still looks like a liability out there, then it gives Buffalo a reason to find a more versatile replacement. Codrington is firmly on the roster bubble, and whatever Buffalo does won’t come as a surprise to me.