Charles Romes arrived in Buffalo as a late-round flyer (12th round, 309th overall in 1977) and distinguished himself as the first French-born player in NFL history. Stepping into the secondary as a rookie, Romes developed into an iron-man starter at right cornerback, holding down the position across a decade of service.

Romes possessed a typical length for a perimeter cornerback of his era. He primarily operated on the right boundary. His strengths included reading route stems, maintaining position in the hip pocket of outside receivers, and exploiting off-target throws through disciplined ball skills.

Romes’ defining characteristic as a Bill was his remarkable availability. After participating in all 14 games as a rotational defensive back during his rookie season, he assumed the role of the full-time right cornerback in 1978 and commenced every game for Buffalo over the subsequent nine seasons.

During his decade-long tenure in Buffalo (1977–1986), Romes participated in 151 consecutive regular-season games, including 137 consecutive starts—ranking as the eighth-most starts in the franchise's history. He functioned as a primary secondary anchor during Chuck Knox’s division-winning team in 1980 and their subsequent playoff campaign in 1981.

Romes logged at least one interception in nine consecutive seasons with the Bills (1978–1986). His individual peak came in 1985, when he recorded a career-high 7 interceptions. He also set a career-best mark the previous season, in 1984, with 5 interceptions.

In total, Romes recorded 28 interceptions for 493 return yards, eight fumble recoveries, and one defensive touchdown as a Bill, placing him fourth on Buffalo's all-time career interception leaderboard.