Bills' Brandon Beane Delivers Candid Remarks on 2 Key Free Agents

Whether or not the Buffalo Bills will move to re-sign either Connor McGovern or David Edwards remains to be seen.

If you read between the lines of Brandon Beane’s remarks on the Bills’ free agent offensive linemen, however, it does not appear likely that either player will return to the team next season.

It could be a smokescreen, but Beane seemed to be sending the duo on their way when he addressed the question of their return while appearing on One Bills Live from the NFL Scouting Combine on Tuesday.

“I need some money,” joked Beane, referencing each player’s impressive market value, which has been projected at $16.2 million average annual value for McGovern and $19.9 million AAV for Edwards, per Spotrac on Feb. 24.

Connor McGovern is set to become a free agent when the new league year begins on Mar. 11. | Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images

“Those guys, we got both of them three years ago, a great job by our pro department, to help us, you know, identify, marry those up with the coaching staff and bring those in those guys,” added Beane. “… A credit to everyone involved on how those guys panned out for us the past three seasons. And I want to thank both those guys for what they’ve done for us."

That would appear to indicate the Bills’ president/general manager is not planning to retain either of their studs on the interior of their offensive line, which would be a big blow as that unit has been one of the team’s significant strengths the past three years.

That’s not all

Beane continued to discuss the potential for either player to be back with the team in 2026, which would be tough for the Bills to swing, given where they are with the salary cap. Although Beane announced Tuesday that they have restructured Spencer Brown’s contract to open about $10.4 million in cap space, the Bills remain in a precarious spot financially and have pressing needs at many other positions.

The Bills opened the offseason about $10 million over the salary cap.

MORE: Buffalo Bills Make Major Dalton Kincaid Contract Decision at NFL Combine

David Edwards is one of the Bills' high-priced free agents this offseason. | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

“It’s free agency time,” he told hosts Chris Brown and Steve Tasker. “They’ve earned this right.”

With that said, Beane did mention the team has had conversations with both players’ representation about a potential free-agent deal being reached before the Bills take the field in 2026.

“We’ve had conversations before, dating back,” he said. “But it takes two, it’s a business. There’s no hard feelings if they go maximize their dollars and we can’t afford it. That’s our job. Our job is, if we can’t make it work, our job is to have the next Connor McGoverns and David Edwards and continue to do that.”

Potential options

The Bills recently re-signed offensive lineman Alec Anderson to a one-year deal, which leaves a potential option to replace McGovern or Edwards, as Anderson is capable of playing all four offensive line positions. Other names in the mix if the two free agents depart will be Sedrick Van Pran-Granger, Tylan Grable and Chase Lundt, to name a few.

Both McGovern and Edwards would be difficult to replace, as McGovern hasn't allowed a sack the past two seasons, while Edwards has allowed just five sacks over three seasons with the team, four of which came in 2025, per Pro Football Focus. The two have also been incredibly durable, as Edwards has appeared in 50 of a possible 51 games and McGovern 49 of 51 over the past three years.

Free agency opens when the new league year begins on Mar. 11.