Kaiir Elam

Kaiir Elam ( ; born May 5, 2001) is an American professional football cornerback for the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Florida Gators and was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the first round of the 2022 NFL draft.

Early life Elam grew up in Riviera Beach, Florida, and attended The Benjamin School, where he played basketball, football, and ran track. As a senior, he recorded 71 tackles, three sacks and nine interceptions and was named the Palm Beach 5A-1A football defensive player of the year. Elam was rated the fourth best high school football prospect of his class by ESPN and committed to play college football at Florida.

College career As a true freshman, Elam played in all 13 of the Gators' games and made five starts, recording 11 tackles, three interceptions and four additional passes broken up; he was named to the Southeastern Conference (SEC) All-Freshman Team. Elam entered his sophomore season on the Jim Thorpe Award watchlist and was named preseason second-team All-SEC. On January 10, 2022, Elam declared for the 2022 NFL draft.

Professional career

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills selected Elam in the first round (23rd overall) of the 2022 NFL draft. In order to secure the acquisition of Elam, the Buffalo Bills orchestrated a trade, agreeing to send their first (25th overall) and fourth round (140th overall) picks in the 2022 NFL Draft to the Baltimore Ravens in return for the 23rd overall pick. Elam marks the fourth straight defensive player the Bills have selected with a first round pick, following Gregory Rousseau in 2021.

On May 13, 2022, the Buffalo Bills signed Elam to a four-year, $13.69 million contract that is fully guaranteed and includes a signing bonus of $7.13 million.

He made his NFL debut in week 1 against the Los Angeles Rams. He recorded his first professional interception off Kenny Pickett in week 5 on October 9, 2022, in the Bills 38–3 win against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The next week, on October 16, 2022, Elam recorded his second NFL interception off Patrick Mahomes during the Bills 24–20 win against the Kansas City Chiefs. He finished his rookie season with 41 total tackles, two interceptions, and four passes defensed in 13 games. On January 15, 2023, in the Bills' playoff game against the Dolphins in the wild card round, Elam recorded his first career playoff interception off Skylar Thompson in the 34–31 win.

On November 2, 2023, Elam was placed on injured reserve. He was activated on December 27.

On January 15, 2024, during the Bills playoff game against the Steelers in the wild card round, Elam committed pass interference on Diontae Johnson, giving the Steelers the ball and a fresh set of downs at the Bills' 3 yard-line. 2 plays later, he recorded his second career playoff interception off Mason Rudolph on a pass intended for Johnson in the end zone, ending the Steelers drive and preventing them from scoring their first points of the game. This interception occurred exactly one year after Elam recorded his first career playoff interception against the Miami Dolphins.

After playing sparingly during the 2024 regular season, Elam was pressed into action during the 2024 AFC Championship Game following an injury from Christian Benford. Elam struggled to defend the Chiefs receivers both in man and zone coverage, committed multiple penalties, and was cited as one of the reasons the Bills lost the game.

Dallas Cowboys On March 12, 2025, Elam was traded to the Dallas Cowboys alongside a 2025 sixth-round pick in exchange for a 2025 fifth-round pick and 2026 seventh-round pick. On May 1, the Cowboys declined the fifth-year option in Elam's contract, making him a free agent after the 2025 season. The Cowboys waived him on November 22.

Tennessee Titans On November 26, 2025, Elam signed with the Tennessee Titans. He made four appearances for the Titans, recording one pass deflection, two fumble recoveries, and four combined tackles.

Kansas City Chiefs On April 2, 2026, Elam signed with the Kansas City Chiefs on a one-year contract. The Chiefs released him on August 30.

Los Angeles Chargers On September 2, 2026, Elam was signed to the Los Angeles Chargers' practice squad.

NFL career statistics Legend Bold Career High

Regular season Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles GP GS Cmb Solo Ast TFL Sck Sfty PD Int Yds Avg Lng TD FF FR Yds Avg TD 2022 BUF 13 6 41 29 12 1 0.0 0 4 2 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 – – – 2023 BUF 3 2 14 10 4 0 0.0 0 0 0 – – – – 0 0 – – – 2024 BUF 13 4 26 17 9 2 0.0 0 2 0 – – – – 0 1 0 0.0 0 2025 DAL 10 7 29 19 10 0 0.0 0 1 0 – – – – 0 0 – – – TEN 4 0 4 3 1 1 0.0 0 1 0 – – – – 0 2 9 4.5 0 Career 43 19 114 78 36 4 0.0 0 8 2 0 0.0 0 0 0 3 9 3.0 0

Postseason Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles GP GS Cmb Solo Ast TFL Sck Sfty PD Int Yds Avg Lng TD FF FR Yds Avg TD 2022 BUF 2 1 6 5 1 0 0.0 0 2 1 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 – – – 2023 BUF 2 0 5 1 4 0 0.0 0 1 1 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 – – – 2024 BUF 1 0 3 2 1 0 0.0 0 0 0 – – – – 0 0 – – – Career 5 1 14 8 6 0 0.0 0 3 2 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Personal life Elam's father, Abram Elam, played college football at Kent State and in the NFL for seven seasons. His uncle, Matt Elam, also played football at Florida and was a first round selection in the 2013 NFL draft. Matt Elam currently plays for the Massachusetts Pirates of the Indoor Football League (IFL).