​The Buffalo Bills have reshaped their safety room over the past few seasons, bidding farewell to longtime contributors Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer. While this season may feature a number of familiar faces, the lineup is also welcoming several new players who are ready to compete for opportunities. In this edition of “91 Players in 91 Days,” we focus on a veteran safety attempting to crack the roster after spending two seasons with an AFC rival.
Name: Geno Stone
Number: 25
Position: Safety
Height/Weight: 5’11”, 207 pounds
Age: 27 (28 on 4/19/2027)
Experience/Draft: 7 years; selected by the Baltimore Ravens in the seventh round (No. 219 overall) of the 2020 NFL Draft
College: Iowa
Acquired: Signed with the Bills on 3/16/2026
Financial situation (per Spotrac): Stone signed a one-year deal worth $1,402,500, with $187,500 guaranteed as a signing bonus. Because he is a vested veteran, the total base salary of $1.215 million becomes guaranteed if he is on the 53-man roster for Week One. The Bills can cut Stone before the regular season, leaving only the signing bonus as dead cap. Thanks to the veteran’s salary benefit, his cap hit sits below the contract’s total value if he makes the roster—$1,262,500.
2025 Recap: Stone spent his second season with the Cincinnati Bengals, marking a standout year on a defense that struggled overall. He set a career high with 104 tackles, and he logged his first two career sacks, along with two interceptions, four pass breakups, four tackles for loss, and four quarterback hits. He started all 17 games for the second consecutive season, continuing a streak that saw him play in all 17 games for a fourth straight year. He tied for second on the Bengals in interceptions and ranked fourth on the team in total tackles. However, Pro Football Reference noted a troubling statistic: 26 missed tackles, the most on the club, a figure that rivaled the combined missed-tackle total of Buffalo’s top five safeties from the previous season. Additionally, he allowed a high 106.6 quarterback rating when targeted as the nearest defender in coverage, with a 65.3% completion rate on 49 targets. He yielded four touchdowns and a season-worst 469 yards passing when targeted in coverage.
Positional outlook: Stone is one of six players listed at safety on Buffalo’s current roster. The others include Cole Bishop, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Wande Owens, Damar Hamlin, and Jalen Kilgore. Sam Franklin Jr. and Jordan Hancock are listed as defensive backs, but both have experience playing safety, which could give them versatility in sub-packages or when injuries dictate deeper rotations.
2026 Offseason: Stone has been healthy and has participated in offseason activities to date, demonstrating substantial readiness to contribute.
2026 Season outlook: Stone is shaping up as veteran depth—a steady insurance policy during the offseason. While a fresh environment can sometimes spur improved play, there isn’t an obvious, direct pathway to a secure role on the Bills’ roster. Gardner-Johnson and Bishop appear to be the likely starters, with the competition for the remaining depth roles expected to be intense. Stone’s best chance may hinge on availability, special teams value, and his adaptability to Buffalo’s defensive schemes, but the clearest route to significant playing time would require him to stand out in practice and be a reliable contributor on special teams. He enters training camp as a veteran option with postseason experience, but his status as a regular contributor may depend on how he translates past production into the Bills’ current defensive framework.