The Buffalo Bills made an interesting move on Friday when they released cornerback Taron Johnson, according to multiple reports saying that the release would be pending. It was assumed that Buffalo was parting with Johnson after trading for Chicago Bears wide receiver DJ Moore to clear up some cap space, but it looks like the Bills had something else in mind prior to the new league year.
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported on Sunday that instead of the Bills releasing Johnson, they will in fact be trading him to the Las Vegas Raiders. Rapoport continued his report by saying that Buffalo is trading Johnson and a seventh-round pick to the Raider in exchange for a sixth-round pick, implying that Las Vegas was interested in Johnson's services enough to not take a chance of him hitting the open market.
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Trade: The #Raiders are trading for #Bills veteran CB Taron Johnson, sources say. It's a 6/7 pick swap.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 9, 2026
Johnson was announced as a release, but not officially on the wire yet. Las Vegas pounces. pic.twitter.com/B0oY28Uebp
For those inquiring, the Bills will take on the same $9.5M dead cap hit with this trade that they were set to take on with Johnson's release. All of the dead cap stems from previously paid signing/option bonuses. https://t.co/IkriY1MJke
— Spotrac (@spotrac) March 9, 2026
This article originally appeared on Bills Wire: Report: Bills trade CB Taron Johnson to Raiders instead of release