By: OutOfSightSports
May 16th, 2025
Jordan Poyer Reflects on NFL Future, Open to Buffalo Return After Tough 2024 Season
NEW YORK — After 12 seasons in the NFL, veteran safety Jordan Poyer is weighing his future in football as he remains unsigned heading into the 2025 campaign. The 34-year-old, who spent 2024 with the Miami Dolphins, told NFL Network’s Good Morning Football on Wednesday that he is embracing the possibility of retirement — though he would “absolutely” love to play one more season, ideally with the Buffalo Bills.
“I love the game, you know?” Poyer said during his appearance. “I’m in a place right now where I played 12 years — extremely thankful and blessed… Last year was an extremely tough year on so many levels.”
Poyer signed with Miami last offseason after a successful seven-year run in Buffalo. However, the Dolphins missed the playoffs, and Poyer — adjusting to a new system — struggled to recapture his Pro Bowl form from 2022. It marked his first season without postseason football since 2018.
Appearing relaxed and reflective, Poyer admitted he’s enjoying his time away from football, though the itch to return persists.
“Obviously, transitioning from Buffalo to Miami — cultures being different, systems being different — it just didn’t work out the way anybody had hoped,” he said. “But at the same time, I’m thankful for it all… Would I like to play again? Absolutely. Whatever that looks like. It’d be dope — it’d be ideal — to have a fantasy ending and be able to retire a Bill, but who knows?”
Poyer’s affinity for Buffalo is clear. He spent the prime of his career with the franchise, becoming a central figure in the team’s defensive identity alongside fellow safety Micah Hyde. Together, they helped elevate Sean McDermott’s defense into one of the league’s most respected units, with Poyer earning All-Pro honors in 2021 and a Pro Bowl nod in 2022.
“Extremely thankful for the Bills organization,” he said. “That’s my home. My heart is always going to be there.”
A return to Buffalo would make sense in terms of familiarity with the system, but the Bills have moved forward with younger options. Damar Hamlin and Taylor Rapp are currently penciled in as starters, and Poyer’s role — if signed — would likely be reduced to veteran depth and locker-room leadership.
Complicating Poyer’s free agency is a declining market for safeties, a trend he openly addressed during the interview.
“There was a time where it seemed like the safety market was booming,” Poyer said. “Now it’s almost like the running back situation. Do you pay these guys who are coming downhill and hitting All-Pro running backs all day? Depends on the system, the connections. There are a lot of talented safeties out there who should be getting their bags.”
Still unsigned, Poyer may wait deep into the offseason for the right opportunity — potentially mimicking Hyde, who returned to Buffalo late last season in a depth role before announcing his retirement.
Whether or not a similar path awaits Poyer remains uncertain. But if his NFL journey does continue, he knows where he wants it to end.