What to Expect from Buffalo Bills When Legal Tampering Begins

The Bills have a long list of needs to address and they will begin to do so on Monday at noon.

Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Leo Chenal (54) takes the field before the game against the Baltimore Ravens at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. | Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

The NFL’s legal tampering period opens on Monday at noon, and the Buffalo Bills are expected to be plenty busy.

The Bills need to address a long list of needs at various positions, including wide receiver, edge rusher, safety, linebacker and more. With so many different routes available to them, it should be interesting to follow the team’s moves over the next two days before the official start of the new league year.

Here’s what to expect from the Bills when legal tampering begins.

New opportunities

Dec 7, 2025; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills cornerback Tre'Davious White (27) enters the field before the game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Highmark Stadium. | Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

Along with those the Bills are expected to bring in, there will also be a fair share of players heading for different opportunities starting on Monday. Buffalo has a long list of free-agents-to-be, and many of them are likely to be signed by other teams, ending their careers in the red, white and blue.

For some, their departure will be bittersweet, especially if the Bills lose Tre’Davious White, Matt Milano and other longtime contributors. However, that’s the nature of the business.

Bills 2026 key free agents: OL David Edwards, EDGE Joey Bosa, EDGE A.J. Epenesa, LB Matt Milano, CB Tre’Davious White, QB Mitch Trubisky, WR Brandin Cooks

Rumor Mill

Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans (13) reacts after catching a pass against Atlanta Falcons safety Jessie Bates III (3) (obscured) during the third quarter at Raymond James Stadium. | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

Since the offseason began, the Bills have been linked to a slew of names that will become available once free agency hits. On Monday, we will learn which of those names were rumors and which were real regarding their connection to the team.

One name that should be expected to come up quickly in the Bills’ pursuit is Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Leo Chenal, who has a direct association with Buffalo’s new defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard from their days at the University of Wisconsin.

Potential targets: WR Mike Evans, WR Romeo Doubs, LB Quay Walker, LB Tremaine Edmunds, OL Wyatt Teller, DL John Franklin-Myers, CB Rasul Douglas, S Reed Blankenship, S P.J. Locke

True intent

Brandon Beane, general manager of then Buffalo Bills, heads off the field at the end of practice at the Buffalo Bills training camp at St. John Fisher University in Pittsford on July 24, 2025. | Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

We will also learn how aggressive Brandon Beane and the rest of the Bills’ front office staff plan to be this offseason.

There will be a flurry of reports from teams across the league as they rush to be first in line to sign their preferred targets. How involved the Bills are in those reports and which tier of talent the team is pursuing will say plenty about what is to come when free agency opens on Wednesday at 4 p.m.

Buffalo needs a big splash on the defensive side of the ball. Let’s see if Beane dives into the deep end.