“I feel really good about what’s on the 53, I do.” General manager Brandon Beane had said ahead of the 2026 regular season about the Buffalo Bills‘ 53-man roster, “assuming you can stay healthy.” But while the Bills haven’t suffered any major injuries through the first seven games of the 2026 season, they have been extremely active with their defensive backs.

In the last month, the Bills have made around 10 defensive-back transactions, illustrating how much turnover there has been in the secondary. For instance, Jordan Hancock went to the injured reserve in September. Buffalo repeatedly moved CBs such as A.J. Woods and Anthony Kendall on and off the practice squad. Meanwhile, Te’Cory Couch was promoted to the active roster in late October.

Then the Bills started this month by releasing safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson. And now, the team has made another transaction in the secondary. Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Buffalo is signing former Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Kader Kohou. The decision came just days after the Chiefs released the 27-year-old following their Week 8 loss to the Denver Broncos.

Kader Kohou kicked off his NFL career with the Dolphins after going undrafted in the 2022 NFL Draft. After Miami signed him as an undrafted free agent, he quickly made his presence felt and became a reliable option over the next three seasons.

In his rookie year, the cornerback recorded 72 combined tackles and 63 solo tackles. Across three seasons in Miami, he played in 47 games, started 38, and recorded 180 combined tackles, 148 solo tackles, and 1 sack. He was entering the 2025 season on a one-year deal. However, a torn ACL in training camp ended his 2025 season before he could have started it.

In 2026, he signed with the Chiefs on a one-year, $1.8 million deal. But Kohou failed to find a place on Kansas City’s 53-man roster, and the team released him on August 30. While the Chiefs re-signed him on September 1 to the practice squad, Kohou was released earlier this month, just a day after their Broncos loss. And now, he’s joining the Bills’ practice squad.

Kader Kohou primarily plays in slot corner. In 2024, he played 453 of his 708 defensive snaps from the slot, following 601 of 937 snaps from the slot in 2023 and 482 of 895 snaps from the slot in 2022. That makes the Bills’ decision to sign Kohou understandable, considering Buffalo’s secondary has been forced to deal with availability issues at nickel.

Buffalo entered the season viewing Dee Alford as its starting nickel, with Brandon Beane noting that Alford could also move outside if necessary, while Jordan Hancock could potentially take over the slot role.

“That’s the great thing about Dee, he is our starting nickel, but Jordan Hancock’s done a nice job. If we feel like we need to move Dee outside for an injury or whatever’s going on, we can do that as well,” said Beane. “As we build our roster in different positions, we’re trying to have guys like the Hancock’s of the world that can play [multiple spots].”

But Hancock was placed on injured reserve in September with a hamstring injury. Alford, meanwhile, has also dealt with an ankle injury this season. He was listed as questionable heading into Week 8 before eventually sitting out the matchup against the Baltimore Ravens.

That makes Kohou’s position particularly relevant for the Bills. Whether Buffalo eventually activates him from the practice squad remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: the Bills already know what Kohou can bring to an NFL secondary after watching him play against them as a division rival for three seasons.