safeties Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde. Taylor Rapp is penciled in to be a starter after signing a three-year contract extension earlier this offseason, but it remains unclear who will start alongside him.
So far in training camp, Damar Hamlin, free-agent signing Mike Edwards and rookie Cole Bishop have rotated with the first-team defense. Hamlin, who is almost two years removed from his infamous on-field cardiac arrest, has seen the majority of first-team reps, though it’s possible that’s more so due to his familiarity with the system.
Edwards, a two-time Super Bowl champion, suffered a hamstring injury on Sunday and will miss at least the next week of training camp as a result. This could lead to a two-man race between Hamlin and Bishop, and while the former has NFL experience, the latter’s versatile skill set makes him a compelling candidate to start. In 11 games last season, Bishop did it all for the Utah Utes, finishing with 60 tackles, 6.5 for loss, three sacks, two interceptions and four pass breakups.
