Buffalo Bills Could Create Significant Cap Space by Extending Key Defensive Lineman

Ed Oliver’s 2025 season did not go as planned. Injuries hampered his ability to consistently affect the Buffalo Bills’ defense, leading to frustrations for the seven-year pro.

With that said, when he was on the field, he proved he can still play, which has left an NFL salary cap expert to propose a potential contract extension for the defensive tackle. Mike Ginnitti of Spotrac presented an interesting scenario involving Oliver that would not only help keep him in Buffalo but also create significant cap space in the process.

A proposal

“Ed Oliver has two years left,” said Ginnitti. “It’s a sizable cap hit in terms of how things land here for Buffalo.”

Oliver is signed through the 2027 season, set to create a cap hit of $23.9 million in 2026 and $25.7M the following year.

“I know they’ve drafted, and they do have a plentiful amount of interior linemen, but this is just an organization that has prided themselves on being as deep as humanly possible here,” he added. “I’m going to extend Oliver to lower the cap hit, to give him a few years guaranteed. And it’s not top of the market stuff here.”

MORE: Buffalo Bills Have $17M Decision to Make in Critical Offseason

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The potential extension outlined by Ginnitti was to add two years to Oliver’s contract and an additional $45M. That would equate to about $70M remaining on his deal under the suggested extension.

“And look what it does for the cap hit,” he said as he worked through the Spotrac interface during a video discussing potential Bills offseason moves. “If we put this on a $20M signing bonus, which I think is reasonable for 2026, we’re cutting this thing really in half, in terms of what the cap is gonna be.”

Ginnitti’s proposal lowered Oliver’s cap hit for 2026 to $12.3M, an $11.6M reduction.

Precarious spot

The Bills are currently $10M over the NFL’s 2026 salary cap, which will range from $301.2M to $305.7M. Even if the team extends Oliver as Ginnitti suggested, more moves must be made to help the team create a viable financial situation moving into the new league year.

It’s about time for the Buffalo front office to lace up their boots and get to work.