It looks like the Buffalo Bills will have the last laugh on a spring trade. The Cowboys announced Saturday that they have waived former Bills CB Kaiir Elam and signed RB Malik Davis from the practice squad to the active roster in a corresponding move. Elam is a former first-round pick of the Bills back in 2022.
In March, the Cowboys sent a 2025 fifth-round pick and a 2026 seventh-round pick in exchange for Elam and and 2025 sixth-round pick. He had played in all 10 games for Dallas this season and started many of them, with 29 tackles and a pass defensed on the season. But with CBs Trevon Diggs, Caelan Carson, and rookie Shavon Revel all getting healthy, the Cowboys felt they had better options than Elam and needed the roster spot.
In three seasons in Buffalo, Elam totaled 81 tackles, two interceptions, and six passes defensed. A high-ceiling prospect out of Florida, Elam was viewed in the lead-up to the draft as a freaky athlete with rare movement skills, but a player who needed some development in the league. That development never came in Buffalo, and the Bills made the decision to move on despite their own depth concerns at cornerback.
The Buffalo Bills are Still Paying the Price for Missing on Elam
Dustin Bradford/GettyDENVER, COLORADO – OCTOBER 26: Troy Franklin #11 of the Denver Broncos runs against Kaiir Elam #20 of the Dallas Cowboys during the second quarter in the game at Empower Field At Mile High on October 26, 2025 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)
When the Bills took Elam in the first round back in 2022, they were trying to get younger on defense. Buffalo was looking to create the second iteration of their defense under head coach Sean McDermott, who built one of the best defenses in the league when he was hired in 2017.
Because the Elam pick didn’t pan out, the Bills have been struggling to compensate ever since. The silver lining is CB Christian Benford — a sixth-round pick out of Villanova in 2022, the same draft Elam was selected in. Benford quickly established himself as the better of the two players and has since developed into a Pro Bowl-level player. It’s easier to swallow an underwhelming first-round pick when you hit a home run at the same position in the sixth round.
Buffalo took former Kentucky CB Maxwell Hairston in the first round in 2025. Hairston was the fastest player in his draft class and though he missed the first six games of his rookie season, he’s come on strong since. Perhaps Hairston can deliver what Elam couldn’t.
The Buffalo Bills Need Help to Win the AFC East
After losing to the Texans on Thursday Night Football, the Bills are in a tough spot entering Sunday’s action. The Patriots are two and a half games up on them in the division, as they won their first head-t0-head matchup of the season in Buffalo back in October.
The Bills have won the AFC East five seasons in a row, but that streak is very much in jeopardy at the moment. The Patriots have the easiest remaining schedule in the league, so beyond simply winning their revenge game, the Bills will have to hope for some upsets along the way.
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