Bills Roster Spotlight: Linebackers
Any conversation about the Buffalo Bills' linebackers for the 2022 season has to start with Tremaine Edmunds. He comes with a whopping $12.7 million salary cap hit the team has committed to absorbing, thanks to the decision last year to pick up the fully guaranteed fifth-year option on his rookie contract.
So as we begin the second in our series examining each of the Bills' position groups heading into the offseason, we must point out that the only way they can bring that number down now is by signing Edmunds to a contract extension, which is something they have either been unable or unwilling to do after four seasons and 67 games (all starts), including playoffs.
Edmunds' value to the team has been a matter of lively debate among the vast membership of the Bills Mafia, but it's safe to say he is held in high esteem by not only the coaching staff in Buffalo but football personnel evaluators around the league.
New York Jets coach Robert Saleh last month praised Edmunds as a super-human hero, calling him "Avatar," for his ability to do freakish things on the gridiron.
"He's like a unicorn in the linebacker world," Saleh, a former linebackers coach, raved. "I mean, the guy is 6-foot-5, he's got ridiculous length, speed, range, knock-back. He's got all of it. There isnt anything he doesn't have.
"So he is special in every sense of the imagination. The amount of space he takes away just by his mere presence in the middle of the field is unlike anything that's been seen in a very long time. Think [former Chicago Bears LB Brian] Urlacher would probably be one of those guys."
Despite regularly being among the team's leading tacklers — he has finished with more than 100 in all four seasons — Edmunds is not a favorite of the football analytics service Pro Football Focus, which graded him at 50.4 for 2021, nor many fans.
Nevertheless, he will be back for at least one more season for all or most snaps in a defense that uses a 4-2 base, with Matt Milano being the other linebacker.
Milano last offseason signed a contract extension, so he's not going anywhere, either.
In the rare instances when they do have to put a third linebacker on the field, the Bills for the last two seasons have turned to veteran A.J. Klein.
This is where things get interesting. Klein, who will turn 31 in July, carries a cap hit of $5.6 million in 2022. But the money is not guaranteed, which means they can lop nearly the entire sum from their cap with a minimal dead-money figure by releasing or trading him.
So keep an eye on what the Bills do in free agency and the NFL Draft, because $5.6 million seems like a high price to pay for someone who played just 29% of the defensive snaps in 2021.
After re-signing another backup linebacker, Tyrel Dodson, last week, the Bills don't stand to lose anyone from this position group to free agency.
A capsule look at where they stand with this position group:
Expiring contracts
None following the decision last week by Tyrel Dodson to re-sign for one year.
Realistic draft targets
Chad Muma, Wyoming (second round); Channing Tindall, Georgia (second or third round); Terrel Bernard, Baylor (third round); Ellis Brooks, Penn State (fourth round).
Note: If Muma is still on the board when they pick in the second round (57 overall), it would be awfully hard to resist pulling the trigger on him because of his potential fit. The converted safety has great range and could feature a higher upside than Klein or even both starters.
Sensible free-agent targets
None, because there is no linebacker with a projected price tag less than Klein who would be upgrade. So why pay someone else more for less?
Bills 2022 NFL Draft picks
Round Selection
1 25
2 57
3 89
4 126
5 166
6 184
6 203
7 228
7 243
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. Email to Nicky300@aol.com.
