One Bills Contract That Will Age Poorly in 2026

One of the Buffalo Bills’ top free-agent signings from last offseason is already looking like a bust before beginning his second season in red, white and blue.

Joshua Palmer is coming off an injury-plagued campaign that saw him finish the year on Injured Reserve and entering Year 2 in Buffalo, he is already in danger of being phased out of the offense completely.

Palmer signed a three-year $30 million deal with the Bills on Mar. 10, 2025, and finished last season with just 22 receptions for 303 receiving yards after playing in only 12 games due to a lingering ankle injury he sustained on a hip-drop tackle during a Week 6 matchup with the Atlanta Falcons on Oct. 13, 2025. He recorded a receiving EPA of +5.2, the lowest mark of his career, according to Next Gen Stats.

After offseason additions of DJ Moore, acquired via a trade on Mar. 11, and Skyler Bell, who was selected with the No. 125 overall pick in the fourth round of the 2026 NFL Draft, Palmer could fall as low as fifth, sixth or perhaps further down the depth chart before the team breaks training camp this summer.

Assessing the Bills’ group of wide receivers

Along with Moore and Bell, the Bills’ leading receiver from a season ago, Khalil Shakir is returning. Additionally, Keon Coleman has been given a vote of confidence from the Bills’ brass repeatedly this offseason. That leaves Palmer in line to compete with Coleman and Bell for targets in the Bills’ passing game.

But if you ask me, at this point of the offseason, he is on the outside looking in at the rest of the group. Palmer began the season banged up, as he was sidelined throughout the early portion of Buffalo’s offseason workout program before returning to the practice field during Day 2 of Bills mandatory minicamp on June 10.

If it weren’t for Tyrell Shavers’ ACL injury, which is expected keep him on the mend to begin the regular season, and Palmer’s costly contract, he could be looking at getting outright cut.

Palmer costs a lot against the salary cap

Buffalo Bills wide receiver Gabe Davis (13) celebrates with wide receiver Joshua Palmer (5) after scoring a touchdown against the New York Jets. | Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

Outside of a miracle trade, it doesn't seem possible for the Bills to rid themselves of the albatross that is Palmer’s contract in the short term, as it carries a cap hit of $11.75 million and a dead-cap charge of $14.2 million in 2026, according to Spotrac. However, if the Bills can get through this season, which they enter $10 million under the salary cap, they can move on from Palmer next offseason, as his dead-cap charge is just $4.8 million next year, meaning they would save nearly $6 million by cutting bait on him in 2027, when he is set to turn 28 years old.

That seems inevitable at this point, as Palmer is trending toward another disappointing campaign, at least by the standard set by the contract the Bills awarded him in free agency last year.

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