Bills CB Hairston apologizes for snubbing reporters after loss, vows to do better
Max Hairston wasn't going to let one bad day spoil the next. The Buffalo Bills cornerback made an unusual appearance in the team's media room on Monday to apologize for leaving the locker room and refusing to take questions a day earlier following a 29-26 loss to New England, per the Associated Press.
He requested to address reporters even though players are off until Thursday. "First, I wanted to apologize for that. That’s kind of immature, and I’m better than that. So I wanted to get that out of the way," Hairston said.
"I let my emotions get the best of me, and I didn’t want to say something I might have regretted. You live and you learn."
A FORGETTABLE OUTING
Hairston had a forgettable outing in his fourth start of the season, per the Associated Press, and the tape showed it.
He was beaten on both of Romeo Doubs' touchdown catches. On one, Hairston played too far off the line of scrimmage and allowed a 9-yard catch on fourth-and-2 during a third-quarter drive that ended with Doubs' 2-yard touchdown, putting New England up 21-17.
Later, Hairston was slow attempting to tackle tight end Hunter Henry on a 12-yard catch-and-run that converted a third-and-10, allowing New England to run out the final 49 seconds.
The effort on that Henry play drew scrutiny from his own sideline. Defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard agreed the cornerback's effort level deserved to be questioned. "I think that's clear. I mean, he would tell you that," Leonhard said.
But Leonhard also pointed to what the struggles revealed. "That's the thing that I love about Max is the pride. He cares, he wants it, he will address it," Leonhard said. "I think he's an emotional player, that the emotions are getting the best of him right now, and it's our job to help settle that down."
CONTEXT AND STAKES
The stage was not one Hairston was supposed to be on alone. Buffalo’s first-round pick out of Kentucky a year ago, the 23-year-old was starting in place of Christian Benford, sidelined by a toe injury, per the AP.
That put Hairston in a difficult spot. He was given the added responsibility of guarding the Patriots’ top receiving threat, a task that did not go his way on Sunday.
The assignment explains the pressure, but not the result. Hairston was beaten on both of Romeo Doubs’ touchdown catches, and his hesitation showed up on other key downs. He played too far off the line of scrimmage on a 9-yard catch that converted a fourth-and-2, a mistake that helped set up a 2-yard touchdown catch that put New England ahead 21-17.
The 23-year-old’s fourth start of the season was his most forgettable. But it also came with the heaviest responsibility he had carried so far, thrust into a leading role against a top target while the Bills leaned on their young cornerback to hold up.
COACHES WEIGH IN
Defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard did not sugarcoat it. Asked whether Hairston's effort on Hunter Henry's 12-yard catch-and-run deserved to be questioned, Leonhard agreed plainly: "I think that's clear. I mean, he would tell you that."
But Leonhard also defended the second-year cornerback's character. "That's the thing that I love about Max is the pride. He cares, he wants it, he will address it," Leonhard said. "I think he's an emotional player, that the emotions are getting the best of him right now, and it's our job to help settle that down."
The coordinator framed Hairston's struggles as a matter of composure, not capability. The player's own apology earlier in the day backed that read — Hairston admitted he let his emotions get the best of him and refused to speak to reporters before requesting the podium on Monday.
Head coach Joe Brady also voiced support, saying he has not lost faith in Hairston. "There's a reason he stayed out there, because I believed there was go..." Brady said, before the sentence cut off in the AP report. The rest of his statement is not available.
What is clear is that the coaching staff sees a player who wants to fix this. Leonhard's praise of Hairston's pride came with the expectation that he will hold himself accountable. The question now is whether that pride translates into better positioning and quicker reactions when the Bills return to practice.
WHAT TO WATCH NEXT
Hairston vowed the learning process will extend to his on-field play. "Just going back and looking in the mirror and holding myself accountable. We have a standard, and it's my job to maintain that standard. And I have to do better," he said.
He arrived Monday with a different approach than the one that sent him out of the locker room Sunday. "This morning I woke up with a growth mindset. It's time to move on and not put that on tape again," Hairston said.
That tape — the two touchdown catches by Romeo Doubs, the hesitant positioning, the slow pursuit on Hunter Henry — is what the Bills' coaching staff will review before the next step. Players are off until Thursday, per the AP report, so Hairston's correction will have to wait until then.
What comes after that remains unclear. No specific next game or opponent is mentioned in the source, so the timing of Hairston's return to a starting role has not been confirmed.
What is confirmed is his own standard for himself, and his admission that he missed it. The pride that defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard praised is the same pride that drove Hairston to request the podium Monday and own his mistake.
The growth mindset he says he woke up with will be tested Thursday, when the Bills reconvene and Hairston gets his next chance to keep that standard.
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