Just 2 weeks after they sent him packing, the Buffalo Bills are bringing back safety Wande Owens before their preseason opener on Saturday against the Carolina Panthers.
“The Bills are re-signing S Wande Owens,” NFL Network’s Mike Garofolo wrote on his official X account on Friday. “Owens had four workouts with other teams since Buffalo released him on July 31 and now returns to the club that originally signed him as an undrafted free agent last year.”
The Bills are in their 2nd offseason with Owens after he went undrafted in 2025 — he was waived on July 31.
Owens, 5-foot-11 and 210 pounds, played 5 seasons at Yale and graduated from the Ivy League school before playing his final college season at New Hampshire in 2024. He was a 3-time All-Ivy League selection from 2021 to 2023 and put up big numbers in his 1 season at New Hampshire with 111 tackles.
“Wande Owens has the complete makeup to sneak onto this Bills team,” CBS Sports NFL reporter Chris Trapasso wrote. “He was a do-everything safety at two different schools — Yale and New Hampshire — and he’s a freaky athlete. At a chiseled 5-foot-11 and 205 pounds, Owens ran a 4.58-second 40-yard dash and had a ridiculous 43-inch vertical jump and 11-3 broad jump.”
Bills Have 2 Established Starters at Safety
On paper, the Bills should be pretty good at safety with a pair of established starters in Cole Bishop and C.J. Gardner-Johnson.
The key thing here is — on paper.
Gardner-Johnson’s personality and ability to divide a locker room are almost unparalleled in recent NFL history. He has a pair of seasons with 6 interceptions in the last 4 seasons and won a Super Bowl with the Philadelphia Eagles following the 2024 season, but his 1-year, $3.5 million contract signed with the Bills this offseason represents a “prove-it” deal in the biggest way.
Take into account that Gardner-Johnson is on his 7th team in 8 seasons and 6th team in his last 4 years and has made a habit of burning bridges everywhere he goes, and you start to get the picture.
Rookie head coach Joe Brady had to step in and shut down a livestream by Gardner-Johnson in the locker room/training room area on the 1st day of training camp. Which isn’t what anybody really wants to have to do with their veteran players.
“Just be mindful of doing (a livestream) in the locker room and training room area,” Brady appears to say as Gardner-Johnson livestreams.
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