Has Levi Wallace outpriced himself from the Bills' roster?

Bills cornerback Levi Wallace has been through this before.

A walk-on at the University of Alabama and undrafted in the NFL, Wallace is more than used to proving his worth. Last season, that meant signing a one-year contract based on his desire to stay in Buffalo.

“I wanted to come back and have an opportunity to win the one Super Bowl knowing that we have to put in the same work, knowing that it would be just as hard to get back to this position, back into playoffs,” Wallace said in January, ahead of the Bills' Divisional Round playoff game.

Now, Wallace, 26, is set to become an unrestricted free agent, and he may have outpriced himself from Buffalo. General Manager Brandon Beane would love for Wallace to stay, but it depends on the numbers.

“Levi’s a free agent, he tested the waters last year, we were able to get him back, he’s a guy we’ll definitely talk to and would love to get him back, if he wants to be back,” Beane said at his end-of-the-season news conference. “Time will tell there. Either way, we’ll continue to look for depth at the corner position.”

The need to look for depth at the position is heightened by Tre’Davious White’s recovery. White tore his ACL with a non-contact injury in Week 12 in New Orleans. Beane and coach Sean McDermott have both said that White is on-track with his recovery without giving a set timeline for his return. The typical recovery timeline for a torn ACL is around nine months, but it can vary widely.

Wallace’s performance after White’s injury was critical. The fourth-year cornerback had a solid season, even if the end of the game in the divisional round loss to Kansas City leaves a bitter taste. His three takeaways last season were a career high, and his 10 passes defended tied Micah Hyde for most on the Bills.

Spotrac, a sports contract site, estimates his market value at an average of $9.6 million a year, a jump from his $1.75 million one-year deal. With the Bills needing to adjust for the projected cap, the jump could be too much to keep Wallace.

Beane noted last month that between White’s injury and Wallace’s uncertain status, the Bills will “have to look” at options for the secondary, in both the free agency and the draft. He also has heard the cries from Bills fans to draft a cornerback.

“Last year, I know people were upset or didn’t understand why I didn’t draft one where we did. We had corners in the draft that we liked,” Beane said. “The problem was we had other players ahead of them. … I have to be very careful when I select a guy to make sure I’m selecting him at his value. And that’s why I truly follow the board to a degree.”

Whatever happens between the Bills and Wallace, teammates like cornerback Siran Neal think Wallace will handle it all just fine.

“Levi is a strong guy, mentally,” Neal said. "Levi don't worry about a lot.”

Neal, who signed a three-year contract extension earlier this week, praised Wallace’s ability to teach his teammates more about cornerback, as well as his constant support of anyone around him. Neal thinks that dependability will come back to Wallace in return.

“With Levi, I hope everything works out for the best and I hope that he gets what he deserves,” Neal said. “Anybody else that needs him, I'm pretty sure they'll figure out really fast that Levi's a guy that they can always depend on and can go to about anything.”

Defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier echoed some of those compliments earlier this year. He has seen Wallace’s journey – which includes the most starts (52) by an undrafted defense back since 2018 – as another reason why the cornerback will continue to find his place in the league.

“Levi in so many ways is an unsung hero,” Frazier said in January. “When you think about a guy who played at the University of Alabama, ends up walking on and becoming a starter, and then he’s signed as an NFL undrafted free agent, which is literally a walk-on in pro football, and ends up becoming an NFL starter and now to be arguably our best corner with the absence of Tre’Davious.

“It just – it's a great story for anyone out there that aspires to maybe play at our level but maybe things haven't always gone your way.”