Fan favorite Tre'Davious White is back with the Buffalo Bills, but that doesn't guarantee him a starting spot at cornerback. While his pedigree and experience have helped him transition back to the Bills, he needs to compete with a rookie first-rounder Maxwell Hairston for playing time in 2025.
White explained in his press conference on Tuesday that it wasn't very difficult to readjust to McDermott's defensive system.
"It was easy to get back in. The verbiage is still the same. [There are] little differences in some of the techniques we did when I was here the first time. But as far as catching back up, I 90% knew how to do everything. The extra 10% was just different techniques that we do with some of the coverages."
The former All Pro now needs to beat out Hairston for a starting role opposite Christian Benford, and he had some high praise for his competition. "The guy has some abilities that a lot of guys just don't have coming out of the womb. You mix that with the coaching that we have here, and all of the resources that he has to be successful, it's going to come. It's only a matter of time before he's one of the best corners in the league, because of the God-given abilities that he has on top of the coaching and the resources that he's going to have throughout his career."
Mentorship is important to White, and he plans on using his experiences as a rookie to help Hairston transition to the NFL. "I remember being in that similar position, being a first round corner, coming here to a whole new atmosphere. Just trying to find somebody that could teach me the way. Being a young corner in this league...it's a lot of pressure, especially being a first round pick. And then you come into a team that has a lot of vets, that's been in a lot of big games, and it's not really going to have that leniency when it comes to executing the defense, because these guys want to win. Me being a guy that's been in that position...I got here and we had Kyle Williams, Lorenzo Alexander, guys like that. So I don't want to mess up."
White explained that Bobby Babich's promotion was deserved. "Me getting drafted in '17, he was the assistant DB coach. Just to see the change in the command, and how he's just moved up, no one in this building can say 'Bobby Babich didn't earn it'. Up all night, he eats, sleeps, and dreams about ball. That's all he wants to talk about is ball. You can tell by the way this defense performed last year, there was no drop-off because of the change in play calling or anything. This guy has been in this defense with McDermott in Carolina when he was just an intern."
While spending time with the LA Rams and Baltimore Ravens in 2024, White believes he can bring something new to the Bills in his return to Buffalo. "I feel like I'm coming back as a better player in so many different ways than just on the field. I feel like I can give my teammates more knowledge. For myself, I bring a gratefulness and appreciation for the game and for the people that I do it with. These guys here are genuine friends and genuine brothers. It makes coming to work every day easier, because I get to do it with people that I genuinely like and love."
