ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — It's a new year and a new number on the jersey for Bills cornerback Kaiir Elam, trading in No. 24 for No. 5.
“Five is like, I was born with this number,” Elam said. “I wore it in elementary school, middle school, high school, college.”
A number is not the only thing that’s new for Elam going into year three.
“My mindset is definitely different,” Elam said. “Just continue to get better, grow from mistakes, and allow myself to play free.”
Playing free is something Elam is looking to help him reach the potential that made him a first-round pick three years ago.
In his first two seasons in Buffalo, Elam has shown flashes, with interceptions each year in the playoffs, but has struggled to cement himself atop the depth chart, making just two starts last season.
“I’m hungry,” Elam said. “I want to do a lot better, I want to make plays.”
His on-field struggles have been compounded by an ankle injury that landed him on IR during the second half of last season.
However, those tough times are something for which the Bills corner is now thankful.
“I learned to appreciate it because without that, I feel like I wouldn’t have grown into the man I am right now,” Elam said. “It’s a part of life. It’s not going to go your way. I pride myself on staying resilient and continue to challenge myself to learn from previous mistakes and stay confident in myself to go out there and to a good job.”
A good job this season for Elam will include both making plays, and showing leadership, with Elam now one of the vets in the room after an offseason of change.
“We’ve seen a lot, we’ve lost together, we’ve won together, so we’ve seen what it takes to be successful. We learned from (Poyer), we learned from Tre’Davious (White), we learned from Dane (Jackson) and all those guys so I feel like we have great experience and playing together and being able to see failures and success.”
Elam hopes playing free brings him success in year three.
“We’re going to have to see, but I really believe that I trust and believe in myself more than I ever did,” Elam said.
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