How are the Bills Doing in Free Agency This Offseason? Pretty Darn Good
As the Bills approached the start of the new NFL league year less than a month ago, they were nearly $7 million over the salary cap, infinitely complicating the surgery to their roster general manager Brandon Beane knew he would have to perform.
Now, with the bulk of his work done, the team has arguably improved in most areas despite saying goodbye to much more than a handful of veterans.
Among the departed are wide receivers Emmanuel Sanders and Cole Beasley, running back Matt Breida, backup quarterback Mitchell Trubisky, offensive linemen Daryl Williams and Jon Feliciano, defensive tackles Star Lotulelei, Vernon Davis and Harrison Phillips, defensive ends Jerry Hughes, Mario Addison and Efe Obada and cornerback Levi Wallace.
Yet with the exception of Wallace, they were able to fill those spots while increasing their firepower.
The biggest overhaul was their defensive line, which they believed will be just as improved on the interior, with Tim Settle and DaQuan Jones, as the perimeter with Von Miller and Shaq Lawson. (Miller is listed as an outside linebacker but will be a de facto defensive end playing on the line of scrimmage in Buffalo's 4-2 base, whether he puts his hand on the ground or not.)
Beane and the powers that be also believe that even though they lost enormous production at receiver in Sanders (42 catches for 626 yards in 2021) and Beasley (82 catches, 693 yards), the addition of Jamison Crowder (51 catches for 447 yards in 12 games in 2021) and increasing roles for ascending players Gabriel Davis and Isaiah McKenzie will more than make up for it.
Besides, the Bills will active in this area during the NFL Draft, perhaps as early as the first day.
Even though they lost out on free-agent running back J.D. McKissic, who reneged on a verbal agreement with the Bills and returned to the Washington Commanders, they brought in Duke Johnson, another back with proven dangerous ability in the passing game, to pair with Devin Singletary and possibly Zack Moss after allowing Breida to leave in free agency.
After a season in which the Bills rarely used more than one tight end, they added to their options at that spot by signing O.J. Howard to a low-cost contract that won't burn them if injuries continue to plague him like they did throughout the first four years of his career.
Beane's slight-of-hand also enabled them to come out the other end with a better offensive line at a lesser cost.
Feliciano and Williams were released, lopping nearly $10 million from their 2022 cap charge. Pro Bowl guard Rodger Saffold then was added on a one-year deal that will feature a cap charge of just $4.2 million, before Ike Boettger re-signed to a one-year deal for $1 million and restricted free agent Ryan Bates was retained when the Bills matched the offer sheet he signed with the Chicago Bears.
After losing Trubisky to free agency, Beane was able to swing a trade with the Cleveland Browns for Case Keenum, a veteran with winning playoff experience, and bring Matt Barkley back. Those moves make starter Josh Allen the youngest player in the quarterback room.
They really couldn't have done any better there, considering what they had to spend.
Though the Bills are still running short at cornerback, free agency is far from over, and they're always looking.
In fact, after Patrick Peterson re-signed with the Vikings, he said the Bills were one of the teams interested.
After all this, the Bills earned an A- from Bleacher Report for their moves in free agency.
As of Thursday, the Bills had just $1.35 in cap space, but obviously that's a fluid number. Beane will create whatever space is needed, within reason, to add a cornerback at a reasonable price and be able to sign their draft picks and undrafted free agents.
"We don't play games until September," Beane said at the NFL Meetings, "so it's my job to make sure we have the roster ready by then."
Judging by the job he's done with nearly a month to go before the Draft, that shouldn't be a problem.
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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.
