Buffalo Bills' Two Worst Contracts Weighing Down Troubling Salary Cap Situation

A Bills wide receiver may not even be top-four at his position on the depth chart but has the fifth-highest cap hit on the team.

Buffalo Bills wide receiver Josh Palmer runs for several yards after catching a pass during first half action of the Bills home game against the New Orleans Saints. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The Buffalo Bills have $10 million in salary cap space with training camp beginning this week, but when looking beyond the 2026 season, the team is in for another tough situation to begin next offseason.

The Bills’ projected salary cap space for the 2027 campaign is in the negatives at -$38.7 million, according to Spotrac. And there are a few terrible contracts that are most to blame for where Buffalo will find itself at the end of the year.

The first that comes to mind is Joshua Palmer, who has a cap hit of $11.75 million in 2026 and $10.6 million in 2027. It would be very difficult for the Bills to move on from Palmer this year, as his dead-cap charge sits at $14.2 million. However, there is a chance we could see his time in Buffalo reach its conclusion next offseason, as the Bills would take on just $4.8 million in dead cap if they cut him before the 2027 campaign.

Still, for the time being, Palmer’s contract is an albatross that is weighing the Bills down significantly. He failed to produce during an injury-impacted 2025 season and to make matters worse, he may not even fit in as one of the Bills’ top-four options at the position entering 2026. For a player as far down on the depth chart as Palmer at this point, the money the Bills are paying for his services is killing them against the cap.

Terrel Bernard’s extension will drag the Bills down in 2027

Bills linebacker Terrel Bernard during drills at training camp. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

While the big money of his four-year, $50 million contract extension has yet to kick in, Terrel Bernard will soon become one of the Bills’ most overpaid players. He has a cap hit of just $5.3 million in 2026, but that number will rise to $11.1 million in 2027 and $12 million the year after.

There’s no chance the Bills can cut bait on their former third-round pick after a disappointing 2025 season, as his dead-cap charge is a whopping $20 million this year and $15 million in 2027. There’s a chance the Bills could move on from him in 2028, but at that point, he may have weighed them down so heavily that the damage will have been done.

Bernard managed to play just 12 games and when he was on the field he was ineffective. He’s only 27 years old, so there’s a chance he could bounce back this year. But if he fails to measure up for a second straight year, his presence will hurt the Bills financially.

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