Bills offseason spotlight: Offensive line
For a team that went 13-3 in the regular season and 2-1 in the postseason because so many young players peaked at the right time, the Bills a face an offseason that almost certainly will be defined by extraordinary roster turnover.
Their offensive line, in particular, is looking at a scary rebuild with three starters and two reserves possibly headed for free agency.
Although the 2021 salary cap is still being determined, it definitely will go down for the first time since its 1994 inception because of the drastically reduced revenue the owners collected during a coronavirus pandemic that stil rages.
It may be as low as $175 million, which would be $23 million lower than the year before, with the Bills looking at $188 million in cap liabilities as of Monday.
In this latest installment of a series examining the state of the Bills' roster by position group, we look at the options available to them and the challenges they face in trying to keep from taking a giant step backward with their offensive line in 2021.
C/G Jon Feliciano
Coming off an injury, their starting right guard's contract is up. Feliciano also played center when Mitch Morse was out. So he has versatility. He turns 29 this month.
At best, this is a complicated negotiation.
At worst, well, he's gone with a compensatory draft pick coming in 2022.
T Daryl Williams
The man who started alongside Feliciano on the right side could well follow him out the door, meaning the Bills would lose another player under 30.
Perhaps a backloaded deal would work, but the Bills are in danger of losing Williams too because of the poor cap health they must deal with this year.
G Ike Boettger
In a normal year, the Bills probably wouldn't even think twice about at least offering Boettger, a restricted free agent who started their last eight games, a right-of-first-refusal qualifying tender.
But as noted earlier, this isn't a normal year.
Decisions, decisions.
The rest
Also due to hit free agency are tackle Ty Nsekhe and guard Brian Winters. Practice-squad tackle Jonotthan Harris has signed with the New York Giants.
Guard Jordan Devey, a 33-year-old journeyman who spent most of the 2020 season on the practice squad, has re-signed.
But clearly, the Bills could be looking at an offensive line in 2021 in which Morse and left tackle Dion Dawkins are their only returning starters.
Draft options
The Bills are expected to draft multiple offensive linemen this year, perhaps starting as early as the first round with the No. 30 overall pick.
If they go in that direction, keep an eye on Michigan's Jalen Mayfield, Ohio State's Wyatt Davis and Alabama's Alex Leatherwood in the first round, not to mention Bills general manager Brandon Beane, who is not afraid to wheel and deal on draft day.
However, if the Bills lose a good percentage of their 14 unrestricted free agents, he almost certainly could be looking to trade down and out of the first round for more picks, which they're desperately going to need.
It was clear in Beane's season-ending news conference that he would at least like to keep Feliciano and Williams.
"Whether we can get them back, I don't know," he said. "We'll have to see where their markets are and things like that. But if not, we'll have to try and find some similar replacements at a cost-effective number."
For the Bills this year, that's much easier said than done.
Nick Fierro is the publisher of Bills Central. Check out the latest Bills news at www.si.com/nfl/bills and follow Fierro on Twitter at @NickFierro.
