Tre'Davious White expressed uncertainty about playing amid the ongoing pandemic, but he's decided to set that aside in pursuit of on-field success in 2020.
White did not opt out by Thursday's 4 p.m. ET deadline, meaning he'll be a part of the Buffalo Bills this season, NFL Network's Mike Garafolo and NFL Network's Kim Jones report. White told reporters Wednesday he was "still kind of undecided, honestly" when considering his participation while the potential spread and contraction of COVID-19 remains a risk for everyone in the United States.
The Bills will be pleased to have him. White established himself as a premier cornerback in 2019, receiving the most targets in the entire NFL without allowing a touchdown in coverage, per Pro Football Focus. He allowed a passer rating of just 43.0 in coverage, the second-lowest rate (minimum 50 targets), per PFF.
White did so by excelling in press coverage, allowing the fifth-lowest passer rating in such situations (44.3), per PFF. And finally, according to Next Gen Stats, the All-Pro allowed a completion percentage below expectation of -8.4, good for fourth-best in the NFL (minimum 50 targets). He's the linchpin of what fellow Bills CB Josh Norman dubbed "the best secondary in the league" during a Thursday interview with local reporters.
"I think guys really sleep on Micah [Hyde] and [Jordan] Poyer back there," Norman said. "It's because they really do a great job over the top and then coming down in the box as well. They are two of the best tandems in the league. And then you have Tre obviously on the other side. He does a great job at just keying in on his man, and having a guy in that position to go day in and day out and make a play. Then you have Levi [Wallace] on the other side, he's doing a great job. Taron [Johnson] in the nickel, you have so many guys that you can put into this position in secondary, and you see what they've done the last couple of years being in the top of the league."
White is very good, and the Bills have a much better chance of being very good in 2020 with him on the roster.
