Every team needs role players. The Buffalo Bills aren’t exempt from this. Whether we’re talking about pee-wee football or the NFL, there are players who are going to have the “glamour roles,” and there are those who are going to do the dirty work. When you’re eight years old, nobody wants to be on the offensive line; instead, they want to be the person carrying the ball. But, somebody has to do the little things in order for the team to succeed.
With back-end-of-the-roster types, we often discuss special teams as a way to stand out and make a team. Covering kicks and blocking on punt returns isn’t most people’s dream job, but for some players, it’s the way they make a living in the NFL. Everybody wants the glamour roles, but somebody has to do the dirty work.
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In today’s edition of “91 players in 91 days,” we talk about an unsung hero on Buffalo’s roster, someone whose role certainly isn’t glamorous, but he excels in it with zero complaint._____________________________________________________________________________
Name: Sam Franklin Jr.
Number: 28
Position: DB
Height/Weight: 6’3” 210 lbs.
Age: 30 (31 on 2/2/2027)
Experience/Draft: 7; signed with the Carolina Panthers following the 2020 NFL Draft
College: Temple
Acquired: Signed with Bills’ practice squad on 8/27/2025
Financial situation (per Spotrac): Franklin Jr. signed a three-year contract worth $7 million this offseason. For the 2026 season, his cap hit is $1,916,667 if he makes the 53-man roster. The total amount of guaranteed money on the deal is $4.2 million. Spotrac has his dead cap number at $1.28 million if he’s released prior to the start of the season.
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2025 Recap: Franklin Jr. spent last offseason with the Denver Broncos, leaving the only NFL home he’d known in Carolina. However, Denver released him on August 26 as part of final cut-downs, and he signed with Buffalo’s practice squad the following day. On September 4, Buffalo signed Franklin Jr. to the active roster. He replaced defensive tackle DeWayne Carter on the active roster; Carter tore his Achilles tendon and missed the 2025 season as a result. Franklin Jr. played just six snaps on defense, but he was a mainstay on special teams. He played 329 snaps in the game’s third phase, trailing only linebacker Joe Andreessen and fullback Reggie Gilliam in special teams snaps logged. Franklin had 13 tackles. In the postseason, Franklin Jr. had one special teams tackle in two games.
Positional outlook: Franklin Jr. is listed as a defensive back, joining Te’Cory Couch, Kani Walker, and Jordan Hancock as players with that designation; however, Franklin Jr. is really a safety-in-name-only, as he is a special teams gunner and kick coverage player first. The other safeties on the roster are C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Cole Bishop, Geno Stone, Damar Hamlin, Jalen Kilgore, and Wande Owens.
2026 Offseason: Franklin Jr. is healthy and participating in offseason workouts.
2026 Season outlook: Franklin Jr.’s contract essentially guarantees that he’ll be on the team this year, and his role as special teams coverage player extraordinaire makes it so that we can pretty safely say that he’ll be with the club come September barring injury. He’s very good at his role, and even if he’s not going to help much, if at all, on defense, his role is an important one to fill. Especially given that the Bills lost Reggie Gilliam to the New England Patriots this offseason, they’ll likely want to keep Franklin Jr. to maintain some sort of continuity and success on kick coverage.
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Perhaps new defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard will see a way to use the bigger-bodied Franklin Jr. as a dime linebacker, but given that the veteran safety has never played more then 27% of a team’s snaps on defense in his pro career and the Bills have far better options for that role, I don’t think it’s going to happen. Franklin Jr. is likely going to reprise his role as a special teams player, and if you watch opposing kickoff and punt returns closely, chances are good that you’ll see No. 28 somewhere near the ball carrier, appearing like a blur amidst a double-team to stop a returner in his tracks. Franklin Jr.‘s role is niche, but he excels in it, and he’ll be an asset for Buffalo this year.
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