Bills Free Agency: Sign Lions DE Romeo Okwara for Pass-Rush Help?
The Buffalo Bills are on the verge of a defensive exodus, especially along the defensive line.
Edge rushers Leonard Floyd and A.J. Epenesa are set to hit free agency, looking for bigger deals after career years. Buffalo’s interior pressure – headlined by veteran departure DaQuan Jones – is also bound to take a hit.
Of the team’s 13 defensive linemen (edge rushers and defensive tackles), eight can find new homes via free agency. As such, it’s likely the Bills will bring in bodies, even if they come off the discount rack.
Oct 8, 2023; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Lions defensive end Romeo Okwara (95) nearly sacks Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young (9) in the end zone in the third quarter at Ford Field. Okwara forced Young into an intentional grounding penalty on the play.
Mandatory Credit: Lon Horwedel-USA TODAY Sports
One target may be Detroit Lions edge rusher Romeo Okwara.
Okwara has only two years as a starter under his belt – 2018 and 2020 – but rewarded Detroit both times, combining for 17.5 sacks in those seasons. In total, he’s generated 25 sacks in 92 career games.
It’s worth noting that he struggled fairly extensively in the playoffs, but he’s coming off one of the better regular seasons of his career. Of the 118 edge rushers with 140 pass-rush snaps, he posted the 61st-best pass-rush win rate (11.2 percent), a mark higher than both Floyd and Epenesa. He also saw the 42nd-best pass-rush grade, per Pro Football Focus.
Okwara also isn’t a part-time player due to an inability to see the field on certain downs. He’s adequate against the run, and while he may be deployed more frequently on passing downs, it isn’t a limiting factor in his game.
This isn’t to say that Okwara needs to fill Floyd’s shoes. The veteran is a rotational player expected to perform – and be paid – like one.
PFF's contract projection has him slated for a one-year deal worth $2.75 million, a reasonable price, even for Buffalo and its tricky cap situation.
Placing Okwara into the kind of snap share Epenesa saw (388 snaps) is a fair balance between the full-time responsibilities he has seen in years past and the role he shined in on the way to an NFC championship game (249 snaps). In the event the injury bug bites again, Okwara can take on a larger role. If not, he’s an above-average role player on a deal that’s more than manageable.
The NFL’s increased salary cap may bail Buffalo out when it comes to retaining some of its defensive talents, but Okwara is an acceptable alternative, especially given the overproduction several Bills saw compared to their win rates.
