The defending AFC East champion Buffalo Bills had to get complaint under the 2023 NFL salary cap ahead of Wednesday afternoon’s deadline.
With the new league year starting in less than 48 hours, that’s what Buffalo did by restructuring the contracts of quarterback Josh Allen and edge rusher Von Miller. According to various reports, this move saves the Bills roughly $32 million in cap room.
Prior to restructuring the two veterans, Buffalo found itself $16.79 million over the cap. That did not include the reported signing of guard Connor McGovern away from the Dallas Cowboys earlier on Monday. The McGovern deal is said to be worth $23 million over three years as Buffalo filled a big hole along the offensive line.
By restructuring both Allen and Miller, Buffalo pushes back larger cap hits to later years. But with the team coming off another premature playoff exit and in need of upgrades on both sides of the ball, it made perfect sense to do this.
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Moves the Buffalo Bills should make in NFL free agency
Buffalo might not be done creating more room under the NFL salary cap. Restructuring Stefon Diggs, Tre’Davious White and Dion Dawkins would create roughly $18 million more to spend.
This is a clear indication that general manager Brandon Beane expects to be more active as the second tier of free agency gets going and the new league year opens. Here’s a look at a few options.
Miles Sanders, running back
Buffalo has been linked to Sanders over the past few days. It makes sense with current starting running back Devin Singletary currently a free agent. In reality, Sanders would be a marked upgrade over Singletary in Buffalo.
The Philadelphia Eagles star recorded 1,259 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns at a clip of 4.9 yards per rush en route to earning a Pro Bowl nod last season. He’s been uber productive in four NFL seasons, going for north of 1,000 total yards three times. Any deal to sign Sanders likely wouldn’t bring a cap hit of more than $5 million in 2023, making this reasonable for Buffalo.
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Jarvis Landry, wide receiver
The Buffalo Bills brought in Jamison Crowder to be a slot receiver for Josh Allen last offseason. He proceeded to catch six passes in four games during an injury-plagued campaign. Just how poor was this position for the Bills last season? They brought Cole Beasley out of retirement.
While Landry himself dealt with an injury-plagued 2022 season, he’s a five-time Pro Bowl receiver and went over 1,000 yards as recently as 2019. The Bills could probably land him on a one-year, inventive-laden deal.
Related: Sportsnaut’s NFL free agent tracker and grades
Taylor Rapp, safety
Starting strong safety Jordan Poyer is currently a free agent. He’s been linked to other teams on the open market. In reality, the stud veteran might just be priced out of Buffalo’s market. As for Damar Hamlin, we’re still not ready to talk about a return to the gridiron after the scary incident from this past December.
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On the field, Buffalo will need to add a starter-caliber strong safety should Poyer leave for another team. That’s where Rapp comes into play. The former Washington standout played both safety spots during his four-year run with the Los Angeles Rams. He’s recorded six interceptions over the past two seasons and would fit extremely well with Micah Hyde in the Buffalo Bills’ defensive backfield.