Divisional weekend finished and it’s the Chiefs moving on after their victory over the Bills. Buffalo made minimal mistakes this game and really looked like they were finally going to be able to defeat their playoff rival. The Bills fell short after a missed field goal and now have to look onto the offseason.
The Bills had a streaky start to their season, through their first 10 games, they were 5-5. Two of their losses in this span came to underperforming division rivals in the Patriots and the Jets. The Bills did the near impossible to close out the season and won 6 of their last 7 games to not only win the division, but earned the 2nd seed in the AFC. Regardless of how the playoff game went, Bills had an amazing turnaround of a season.
The list of Buffalos free agents is 20 people long. The most notable of these players would be their vital starters. Micah Hyde, Gabe Davis, Taylor Rapp, A.J. Epenesa, and Da’Quan Jones to name a few. The Bills cannot lose these players if they want to continue to have a dominant defense.
The Main Focus for the Bills
The focus here is for Buffalo to do whatever they can to retain players entering into free agency. The bad news is that Buffalo already holds the third highest cap hit in the NFL and are in the negatives. The team may have to make some significant changes to bring back some of these players. The list of free agents is as follows:
Bills’ key free agents this off-season: WR Gabriel Davis, S Micah Hyde, DE Leonard Floyd, LB Tyrel Dodson, CB Dane Jackson, DE A.J. Epenesa, S Taylor Rapp, DT DaQuan Jones, DT Tim Settle, DT Jordan Phillips, DT Poona Ford, DT Linval Joseph, DE Shaq Lawson, WR Trent Sherfield, G…
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 22, 2024
How the Bills Could Structure Their Offseason
Buffalo is in an unfortunate position with their salary cap. The team is currently at $-43 million. The biggest hits to the cap are Josh Allen ($47 M), Stefon Diggs ($27 M), and Von Miller ($23 M). It would not be a surprise to see the Bills restructure some of their big contracts to give them a little bit of cap room.
It is possible that Diggs has played his last game for the Bills and the team trades him. In this case, Buffalo could get a decent return and would not have to pay that hefty cap hit. The Bills should target the defenders that made a difference for them this season. Epenesa was perhaps the best defensive player for Buffalo and he has certainly earned an extension.
The question is will his cost be too much for Buffalo? The Bills are on a steep budget but might make some financial moves to save cap and re-sign the young defensive end. He finished with 6.5 sacks, 2 interceptions, and a force fumble in the regular season. Buffalo has some decisions to make, but they have plenty of time to make them.