BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Buffalo Bills are currently $16.5 million over the NFL’s salary cap limit just three weeks before the official start of free agency.
There are some obvious holes to fill for Bills general manager Brandon Beane, who is likely getting set to say goodbye to two franchise staples in safety Jordan Poyer and middle linebacker Tremaine Edmunds. One of or both players could sign back with the Bills, but Beane has work to do to open up the kind of cap space he’ll need to make those moves happen.
The NFL’s salary cap was set at $224.8 million last month. Beane said earlier in January that he was hoping for a lot of dollars because Buffalo needs all the money they can find to add pieces around quarterback Josh Allen, who’s now into the first big-money season of his contract extension.
“We’re going to have to get under the cap by moves, could be roster cuts,” Beane said last month. “We’re going to have to work to get under the cap so that we can operate next year.”
So what are Beane’s options to get under the cap and add enough cap space to add talent as the Bills continue to try and maximize their Super Bowl window? Here are six moves that if executed could open up $54.7 million in relief, which would give the Bills roughly $38 million in cap space. Beane likely won’t initiate all of these moves — or he may even do variations of some of the moves listed. There are certainly a lot of options.
1. Restructure
Josh Allen
Projected added cap space: $21.5 million
This one is a no-brainer. Allen is a long-term investment so kicking the can down the road a bit is something the Bills can stomach. Beane can convert most of Allen’s $27.5 million base salary into a signing bonus which then gets spread out over the next five years of his contract. Allen gets a big fat check, the Bills get some relief in 2023, and the roughly $21.5 million gets diced up and added equally to his cap hit in each of the remaining years of his deal.
It’s not a perfect solution but the idea is that with the salary cap expected to continue to balloon with the NFL’s TV deal in place, the higher cap cost for Allen in future seasons will be cushioned. If you look down the list you’ll notice that a Stefon Diggs restructure isn’t one of the suggested moves. That’s because the cap savings in 2023 is only about $5 million and doing so complicates matters in the later years of Diggs’ deal.
Diggs signed a four-year extension last offseason and he’s under contract through the 2027 season. The Bills could theoretically get out of the deal before the 2026 season when he’s scheduled to have a cap hit north of $27 million. Cutting him after June 1 in 2026 would add more than $19 million in cap space and hold just a $7 million dead cap hit. Diggs will be 32 in 2026.
2. Restructure
Von Miller
Projected added cap space: $10.8 million
When Miller signed his big deal it was blown out of proportion to a degree because the total numbers read six years and $120 million but it was effectively a three-year deal with roughly $52 million in guaranteed money. Restructuring the current deal means Beane is banking on Miller for an additional season once the money gets divvied up over the future years. Miller’s season-ending torn ACL is a concern but he’s come back from the injury before. This time it’ll be at age 34. This one might fall into the Diggs category at the end of the day but the sheer amount of cap space Beane can open up with the restructure is considerable.
3. Extend
Mitch Morse
Projected added cap space: $5.4 million
Morse is an interesting player situation to ponder this offseason. He turns 31 next month and is coming off a Pro Bowl season that included his sixth documented concussion since entering the NFL. He was the most consistent and productive offensive lineman for the Bills last season and has Allen’s full trust. He has two years left on his contract but the Bills could release him this offseason and add $6.1 million in cap space and eat just $5 million in dead cap.
Beane needs to perform a mini overhaul to the offensive line and that shouldn’t include moving on from Morse. Instead of cutting him, the Bills should give him an extension — provided he wants to play three more seasons — add $5.4 million on this year’s cap. Beane can think about drafting his replacement this season or look toward next offseason to get that done.
The Philadelphia Eagles have All Pro Jason Kelce as the staple of their line at center. They drafted center Landon Dickerson two years ago and have just played him at guard while Kelce continues to play. The Bills should extend Morse, draft multiple offensive linemen, sign a few cost-effective options on the open market, and hope some of their young players like tackle Spencer Brown develop more next season.
4. Restructure Nyheim Hines
Projected added cap space: $1.8 million
The Bills can save almost $5 million if they outright cut Hines, but that doesn’t seem like the best use of resources considering they traded a third-round running back (Zack Moss) and what turned into a fifth-round pick to acquire him last season. Hines is under contract for the next two seasons but there are no guarantees left on his deal. The Bills can rework his contract and provide some cap relief this season. Hines didn’t get up to speed in time to factor into things on offense last season. If the Bills don’t re-sign Devin Singletary, I’d expect Hines to be the no. 2 running back behind second-round pick James Cook.
5. Extend
DaQuan Jones
Projected added cap space: $4.5 million
Jones was the best Bills defensive lineman not named Von Miller last season. Beane got him on a two-year deal last offseason and the 31-year-old looks to have a few more strong seasons in him. The Bills should give him another year or two on his current deal, add some cap space in 2023, and run it back with Jones as the versatile one technique no their line.
6. Trade Ed Oliver
Projected cap space opened: $10.7 million
The Bills’ toughest offseason conundrum might just be what to do with former no. 9 overall pick Ed Oliver. He’s an excellent player and he’s been a key cog up front since drafted in 2019. The problem is that he’s likely going to earn north of $14 million per season on his big extension that’ll come sometime in the next 12 months. He’s going to earn $10.7 million on the fifth-year option, but the Bills can erase that number and add it to their cap space if they trade him.
Buffalo drafted Oliver to be a chaos creator and to sack the opposing team’s quarterback. He’s averaging just three and a half sacks per season. There is little chance that Beane, Sean McDermott and Leslie Frazier want to remove Oliver from their defense, but there are tough decisions that must be made. What if that $10 million of space is used to re-sign Tremaine Edmunds? Is Edmunds more important to the defense? That’s a question the Bills’ decision-makers must answer inside the building.
