Tre'Davious White's 5th-Year Contract Option Exercised by Bills

The Buffalo Bills are keeping cornerback Tre'Davious White around.

The Bills announced on Thursday they were exercising White's fifth-year option that will keep the 25-year-old in Buffalo through 2021. ESPN's Field Yates first reported the decision Wednesday night. 

"A no brainer decision," ESPN's Marcel Louis-Jacques added, "since he's under team control, Buffalo's in no rush to dish out huge money just yet. When he does sign an extension, however it should flirt with record-setting numbers."

White has established himself as one of the NFL's best corners since the Bills selected him in the first round of the 2017 draft. Last season, he earned first-team All-Pro honors and was named to his first Pro Bowl after recording 58 total tackles, 17 passes defended, six interceptions and two forced fumbles.

Since the start of the 2017 season, The 25-year-old LSU product is tied for fourth in the league with 12 interceptions and ranks fifth with 43 passes defended, per Pro Football Reference.

Buffalo general manager Brandon Beane praised the Louisiana native in a February interview with ESPN's Marcel Louis-Jacques, but he was uncertain about how contract talks would play out:

"We're proud of Tre' and where he's come since a rookie to where he's at now, and the year he had, helping us have a successful season as a team. It takes two to tango, so I'm sure he and his reps will have an idea of where they think the market should be if we approached them to extend them this year, and we have it. And if there's something on there that we thought made sense and they did, it'd get done. Otherwise, we know we have that fifth-year option."

Off the field, White has endeared himself to the Buffalo community by embracing the local culture, including a love of hockey. He spotlighted that by shouting out the fictional Tre White Goalie Academy during his Sunday Night Football introduction in December:

The Bills defense has been the foundation of the team's success in recent years, which includes two playoff appearances over the past three seasons following a 17-year postseason drought. White has been a critical cog in the scheme thanks to his ability to handle top wide receivers one-on-one.

Buffalo now has some extra time to negotiate a long-term deal.