Dolphins add Poyer, Neal from Bills
The Dolphins added their second former Pro Bowl player on Tuesday, agreeing to a one-year deal with Buffalo Bills safety Jordan Poyer.
Poyer, who turns 33 in April, was a first-team All Pro in 2021 and a Pro Bowler in 2022. He joins former Tampa Bay twotime Pro Bowl linebacker Shaq Barrett as Dolphins additions on Day 2 of free agency.
Poyer, whose family lives in South Florida, had interest in the Dolphins last offseason before agreeing to a two-year deal last March with the Bills, a contract he never completed after Buffalo starting trimming veterans over the past two weeks.
A former 2013 seventh round pick of Oregon State, Poyer lasted less than half of his rookie season with the Eagles before being released. He then played much of four seasons with Cleveland, before signing a four-year, $13 million contract with Buffalo.
After making 10 starts in his time with the Browns, he blossomed with the Bills, starting the past seven seasons (107 games) and intercepting 22 passes (including three against the Dolphins) and defending 48 over that time. With Buffalo, he also had eight forced fumbles, 11 sacks and 35 tackles for loss.
Last season, Poyer had 100 tackles, no interceptions and a forced fumble in 16 games for Buffalo, all starts.
Pro Football Focus rated him 46th among 95 qualifying safeties last season; Dolphins starter Jevon Holland was rated third and former Dolphins starter DeShon Elliott was ranked 36th.
Poyer had a 102.9 passer rating in his coverage area last season; 33 of the 45 targets in his coverage area were caught for 349 yards, per PFF. He permitted one touchdown. The Bills released him last week.
OTHER SIGNINGS
The Dolphins bolstered their special teams by agreeing to a contract with Siran Neal, who was a standout special teams player for the Buffalo
Bills.
Between 2018 and 2021, Neal’s 34 solo special teams tackles ranked third among all NFL players.
From 2018 through last season, he’s 12th in total special teams tackles and first in special teams forced fumbles.
Last season, he ranked 48th with seven special teams tackles, per teamrankings.com.
Neal, 29, was a fifthround selection out of Jacksonville State in 2018, initially coming to the
NFL as a safety before moving to cornerback.
The 6-foot, 205-pound Neal played at least 240 special teams snaps in each of his six seasons in Buffalo.
On defense, Neal had 115 tackles in 97 games with the Bills, including four tackles for loss and a sack. He has played only 567 defensive snaps during those six seasons, including 63 and 45 the past two seasons. His only start came in 2019, his first season with Buffalo.
Neal could replace free agent cornerback Justin Bethel, who was a core special teams player last season.
The Dolphins, needing defensive tackles after the departure of two starters in free agency, agreed to a deal with former Dallas Cowboys backup and part-time starter Neville Gallimore.
The deal, confirmed by a league source, gives Miami depth — and a possible starter, if needed — in the wake of Christian Wilkins joining
the Raiders and Raekwon Davis committing to the Colts.
Gallimore, 27, had 90 tackles, including 11 for loss, as well as four sacks and three passes defended in four seasons for the Cowboys.
The 6-2, 302-pound Gallimore appeared in 52 games and started 14 in his four years in Dallas. Last season, he had 16 tackles in 17 games
and 288 defensive snaps but didn’t start a game.
Pro Football Focus rated him 69th of 130 defensive tackles in the website’s evaluation of 2023 performance.