The Buffalo Bills want to build a championship football team, but don’t have the cap space to get there at the moment.
Even if the salary cap balloons to $242.5 million as Spotrac.com projects, the Bills still have $298.526 million in active contracts pending for 2024. General manager Brandon Beane stated restructures were coming and it could also very well mean some players are released to cut costs, something the Bills have largely avoided over the last four seasons.
The Bills have 22 unrestricted free agents, some of whom can return on cheap deals and will still have to fill out the roster in free agency and sign their draft picks. So it’s time to start looking at who might not be around next season.
Cap casualty candidates
Tre’Davious White
If Sean McDermott has a favorite player, it’s probably White. He was the first draft pick of the McDermott era in 2017 and was very good early in his career, earning two Pro Bowl berths and two All-Pro selections in 2019 and 2020.
But White is 29 years old and has missed more games due to injury (29) than games played (21) over the last three seasons. White was just starting to look himself after a November 2021 ACL tear and then tore his Achilles tendon in Week 4 this season.
The Bills have not indicated whether White will be ready for training camp or even the start of the regular season after suffering an injury that’s historically one of the most difficult to overcome. On top of that, White is scheduled to have a $16.443 million cap hit next season.
If the Bills cut White after June 1, they would eat more than $6 million, but would save more than $10 million. Trading for Rasul Douglas at the deadline last season, while also having Christian Benford and Kaiir Elam on the roster could make White expendable.
The other option is to extend White to alleviate some of his cap hit and see if he can regain some of his old form before giving up on him.
“Our focus here is just getting him healthy, more than anything else, to get him back on the field,” Beane said. “And we haven’t gone down that road of ‘what is our starting corners look like next year? What can we afford?’ Anything like that. I do feel like we have some depth there, which helps but again, a healthy Tre White is a heck of a talent. So, you would always want that if you can make it happen.”
Mitch Morse
Morse is the anchor of the Bills’ offensive line and is often the adult in the room, so much so that left tackle Dion Dawkins refers to him as “Dad.” Morse will be 32 years old by time the season starts — with a history of concussions — but he stated openly that he wants to be back next year.
The problem is that Morse has an $11.5 million cap hit and the Bills can save $8.5 million in cap space by releasing him this offseason. The Bills also have Ryan Bates on the roster and he saw extensive snaps during training camp as the No. 2 center. Releasing Bates would cost more money than it would save, so unless he’s traded, he will be on the roster next season.
It doesn’t seem like the Bills want to lose Morse, so a contract restructure with void years may be something to consider.
Deonte Harty
The Bills are limited at receiver and have limited cap space, but they are due to pay Harty $5.7 million next season, according to Overthecap.com. By releasing Harty, they can save $4 million and use that cash to take another swing with a similar caliber player.
Harty was signed to a two-year $9.5 million deal last offseason and played 22% of the snaps over the first seven games of the season, but quickly fell out of favor and never found a role when Joe Brady took over as offensive coordinator.
Over the final 10 games, Harty played less than five offensive snaps six times, never hit 20% and was a healthy scratch against the Eagles in Week 12. Harty made just 15 receptions for 150 yards and a touchdown.
Jordan Poyer
Poyer ranks up there with White as one of McDermott’s favorites, having been one of the first signings after McDermott got the job. But Poyer will be 33 next season and his long-time safety partner Micah Hyde is scheduled to be a free agent.
When Poyer hit free agency last season, he expected a big market, but it never came and he returned on a two-year deal worth $10 million. Age and injuries appeared to wear on Poyer this season and it was clear doesn’t possess the same range anymore.
The Bills thought so also when they implemented a dime package with a shortage of linebackers and Poyer was moved up into the box as a hybrid linebacker after Matt Milano’s injury on passing downs instead of Taylor Rapp, who had experience playing the position.
If the Bills feel they can find a cheaper option in free agency or in the draft, they can save $5.7 million by releasing Poyer. The problem, however, is that they likely have to find two new safeties with a limited budget.
Extension and Restructure candidates
QB Josh Allen: This one is a no-brainer. Allen clearly isn’t going anywhere, but he holds a $47.1 million cap hit next season following his contract extension in 2022.
The Bills can take a chunk of that and convert it into a signing bonus. Then Allen would be due his $23.5 million base salary and a $6 million roster bonus and they can shave almost $23 million off the cap.
CB Taron Johnson: With one year remaining on his deal, the Bills could save $7.697 million by outright releasing Johnson this offseason. But coming off an All-Pro season at slot cornerback, Johnson has proven to be the most important piece of the defense and they won’t want to move on him any time soon, particularly after being the only defensive starter to play every game the last two seasons. The 27-year-old is likely an extension candidate that could save $4.781 million next season.
LT Dion Dawkins: He turns 30 in the spring, but just made a third consecutive Pro Bowl and arguably had the best season of his career last season. Dawkins enters the final year of his contract and offensive tackles tend to have a long lifespan in the NFL. He already has two void years left on his contract, so the Bills could extend him for two years and gain roughly $7 million in relief on his $16.61 million cap hit in 2024.
RB Nyheim Hines: This is the most intriguing player on the roster this offseason. The Bills got little out of Hines after trading for him midway through 2022 and he missed all of last season with a knee injury suffered in a jet-ski collision.
Even before Hines was injured, the Bills brought in Damien Harris and Latavius Murray with intent to use them in the backfield. And then James Cook developed into a solid dual-threat with Brady calling the plays.
The Bills can save $4.66 million by releasing Hines, but Beane was adamant that the 27-year-old running back was part of the future in Buffalo. He took a pay-cut last season and may be a candidate to do so again.
“Nyheim, he had that surgery early August,” Beane said. “So he’s still working on his rehab. And I don’t have a timeline to say he’s going to be cleared, but I would see him being cleared by training camp. I’m not a doctor, and I haven’t gotten any clarity but just knowing when he did it. I don’t know what his participation would be like in OTAs yet.”