Fans have waited a long time, but finally the Buffalo Bills’ Superbowl window is open again. When your Superbowl window is open you must take advantage of that and be aggressive. This Buffalo Bills Free Agency class will be incredibly important. While they do not have much cap space right now, they can cut players, and restructure contracts to make some. Brandon Beane, who has proven to be one of the best general managers in the league, knows that. His former assistant Joe Schoen, who is now the New York Giants general manager, tipped all of us off. In his first press conference with the team Schoen stated that while still with the Bills, “I was working towards free agency. We were going to have some money there.” With a statement like this we can expect the Bills to clear some cap space and go after players in free agency to upgrade the roster.
How the Bills can Acquire some Spending Money
The Bills will unfortunately have to cut ties with some talented players, and even fan favorites. This is one of the negatives of having such a talented team. The Bills could cut slot receiver Cole Beasley who has been a staple in the Bills offense the past few seasons. They could save $6 million by cutting him but general manager Brandon Beane said he expects Beasley to be on the team next season. So a contract restructuring is ideal here. Beasley has been clutch and Allen’s go to guy on third downs, surely both sides want to work it out. After a top notch 2020 season the Bills extended right tackle Daryl Williams. Williams struggled a bit at tackle this season and was kicked inside to guard. He lost his job to promising rookie tackle Spencer Brown.
The Bills could save $6 million by cutting Williams and they need to upgrade at guard anyway. Jon Feliciano also earned himself a contract extension last offseason but barely played this year between injuries and Covid. When he came back to action, he could not unseat Ike Boettger or Ryan Bates for the starting left guard job. Cutting Feliciano saves $3.5 million in cap. Backup Linebacker A.J. Klein might be the toughest decision here. The Bills can save $5 million by cutting him, but he has been vital in stepping in for the team when called upon. At the same time though, can your backup linebacker eat that much cap space when you have needs elsewhere? Primary special team’s player Tyler Matakevich, if cut, would save the team $2.5 million. He restructured his contract last off-season and could do so again.
Free Agents they Should Definitely Go After
Assuming the Bills do create cap space, and get aggressive, the free agent pool has some big names in it this off-season. The biggest needs that seem to stand out for the Bills are edge rusher, offensive line, and cornerback. If the Bills can pull the money together, Chandler Jones would be a dream addition. The Bills desperately need an injection of superstar talent on the defensive line. The Syracuse football alumni coming off a 10.5 sack season, might love the idea of returning to Upstate New York and chasing a ring.
Under new OC Ken Dorsey, the Bills new offensive line coach Aaron Kromer was the Rams O-line coach and run-game coordinator from 2018-2020. Rams current offensive guard Austin Corbett turned his career around under Kromer and has been playing at a high level since. He could now be on the Bills target list with some advocating from his former coach (Kromer). Per spotrac.com, Corbett’s projected average salary is $8.7 million. Cutting Feliciano and Williams would give the Bills more than enough money for him. It will also upgrade an offensive line that allowed Josh Allen to be the most pressured quarterback in the league last season.
Be Aggressive! Just Ask the Rams
If it seems like the Rams haven’t had a first-round pick in forever, it’s because they haven’t. The Rams have not used a first-round pick since the 2016 draft. The Rams are super aggressive and trade their picks for top notch players. They went out and acquired Matthew Stafford and Jalen Ramsey, both stars, to bolster their team in their Superbowl window. This upcoming Sunday they will be playing in the Superbowl. They also went after Odell Beckham jr. when he was released who has been critical in their path to the Superbowl.
They added some serious juice to their pass rush by adding Von Miller at the trade deadline, continuing their aggressive ways. Not saying the Bills should start trading all their picks, but they need to get aggressive this off-season. They need to upgrade certain spots to put them in the best position to finally capture that elusive Superbowl. It all starts with free agency, and thanks to Schoen tipping us off, we can expect the Bills to get aggressive and be spenders this off-season.
I think they will be too, good post
They should look into U of Minn RT Daniel Faalele 6’9″ 310 lbs. Watched a few of his games, this kid is a beast. There’s our run blocking scheme right there. He eats up double /trip coverage opening it up. Some draft guessers have him going late 1st. round early 2nd. One has Miami taking him 1st. round. Wouldn’t want to face him 2X a season.
I agree 99%. Only part I may slightly disagree with is Edge. I’m thinking OLB. The most glaring thing I saw in the KC game was “missed tackles”. How many times did the Bills have either Mahomes or a KC ball carrier hemmed in for a big loss only to see them slip wiggle dodge making it gains of 9-10 or more yards? Had the Bills had a superior OLB similar to Watt, this game would’ve swung in the Bills favor big-time. Half those slip tackle gains wouldn’t have happened. Also, a superior OLB frees the pressure off the DEs so imagine what the ends could do along with a great OLB and other LBs and D overall. This also takes off the pressure from CBs so they’re not chasing down opposition players that slipped past tackles. Drafting a CB or free agent CB 1st isn’t gonna address the missed tackles in the backfield but drafting or signing a superb free agent OLB to me more likely will help get the needed defensive job done. Also, do whatever it takes to sign McKenzie don’t lose him! Him & Davis with Diggs look out! Go Bills!