BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Kaiir Elam, the Bills’ first-round draft pick in 2022, is a healthy scratch for the team’s 2023 season opener against the Jets on Monday Night Football in the Meadowlands.
Fellow defensive back Damar Hamlin also was included on the active list, as the Bills opted in favor of veterans Cam Lewis, Dane Jackson and free agent acquisition Taylor Rapp as secondary reserves for the matchup against Aaron Rodgers and the Jets.
Elam, who started six of the 13 games he played in as a rookie, was beat out in training camp by last year’s sixth-round pick Christian Benford to start opposite top corner Tre’Davious White. Elam also fell behind Dane Jackson, a starter last season, on the depth chart.
Bills offensive linemen Germain Ifedi and Alec Anderson, along with defensive end Kingsley Jonathan also won’t be among the 48 players active for Monday night’s game.
***
Jonah Bronstein joined the WIVB squad in 2022 as a digital sports reporter. The Buffalonian has covered the Bills, Sabres, Bandits, Bisons, colleges, high schools and other notable sporting events in Western New York since 2005, for publications including The Associated Press, The Buffalo News, and Niagara Gazette. Read more of his work here.
