When the NFL offseason started, Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane found himself in a very difficult position as the Bills were more than $50 million OVER the salary cap. Even after the NFL announced that the salary cap ceiling was set at $255.4 million this year, the Bills still found themselves $41.3 million over the cap prior to the new league year, which began on March 13.

Beane had a lot of tough decisions to make in order to not only get his team back under the cap (and then save additional money to go spend on free agents and re-signing some of their own players), but to also make the team younger for the second window of Josh Allen’s career.

As a result, we saw the Bills part ways with some cornerstone players who helped lay the foundation for the culture that was established in Buffalo. Not to mention players who helped end the drought like safety Jordan Poyer and cornerback Tre’Davious White. (White was Sean McDermott’s first ever draft pick in 2017.) And of course there was center Mitch Morse, who signed with Buffalo in 2019 and was not only an anchor on the offensive line for five seasons, but a huge reason for Josh Allen’s ascension to being one of the league’s best quarterbacks.

So let’s take a look at all of the transactions that the Bills made in order to get cap compliant, followed by the moves they made once they had the money to spend.

Released: running back Nyheim Hines, safety Jordan Poyer, defensive back Siran Neal, center Mitch Morse, wide receiver/special teamer Deonte Harty and cornerback Tre’Davious White (post-June 1).

Traded: offensive lineman Ryan Bates.

See BILLS, Page C3

Restructured/reworked: offensive lineman Conner McGovern, cornerback Rasul Douglas, defensive end Von Miller, tight end Dawson Knox and quarterback Josh Allen.

Extended: left tackle Dion Dawkins and nickelback Taron Johnson.

Signed: quarterback Mitch Trubisky, linebacker Nicholas Morrow, wide receiver Mack Hollins, wide receiver Curtis Samuel, defensive end Casey Toohill, safety Mike Edwards, offensive lineman Will Clapp, defensive lineman Austin Johnson and defensive tackle DeShawn Williams.

Re-signed: offensive lineman David Edwards, punter Matt Haack, safety Taylor Rapp, tight end Quintin Morris, defensive back Cam Lewis, defensive end A.J. Epenesa, defensive tackle DaQuan Jones and running back Ty Johnson.

I think Beane has done a great job of navigating the obstacles this season, making those tough decisions while filling as many holes as possible so that they can draft the best player available when the time comes in April.

Now, let’s analyze the different position groups before we get ready for the draft, taking not only the players into consideration, but also their contracts, cap hits and depth charts.

OFFENSE

The Bills brought back Mitch Trubisky on a two-year, $5.25 million deal to once again be Josh Allen’s backup at QB2. They essentially swapped Trubisky with Kyle Allen, who signed with the Steelers this past week. As for tight end, that room was pretty set with Dawson Knox, Dalton Kincaid and Reggie Gilliam under contract. However, the Bills did re-sign Quintin Morris, who was an exclusive-rights free agent, and they reworked Knox’s contract, saving $6.6 million in cap space.

The offensive line was the healthiest and most consistent position group last season. However, the front office decided to move on from Morse and Ryan Bates, saving about $12 million in cap space. As a result, the team re-signed guard David Edwards to a two-year, $6 million contract and then offensive lineman Will Clapp (contract details have not been released yet). Edwards projects to start at left guard, while Connor McGovern is projected to slide over to center. Clapp will provide good depth and competition at both spots, while tackle Ryan Van Demark and guard Alec Anderson will also provide valuable depth. (The rest of the line will remain the same with Dion Dawkins at left tackle, O’Cyrus Torrence at right guard and Spencer Brown at right tackle).

In terms of the running backs they will be blocking for, James Cook is locked in as RB1. Meanwhile, 27-year old Damien Harris retired on Monday while 34-year old Latavius Murray is still a free agent. Buffalo signed Darryton Evans to a reserves/futures contract back in January, and then they re-signed Ty Johnson a few days into free agency. I see Johnson as RB3 and Evans as RB4. I think there is still a need for Beane to find a big, bruising north-south back to complement Cook — the thunder to Cook’s lightning. Not only does this player have to be able to help out in short-yardage situations to take the pressure off of Allen, he also has to be able to block and protect Allen in passing situations.

The Bills can find that player in the draft, but I think there are still some options in free agency who they could get on a cheap contract.

• Ezekiel Elliot

• Clyde Edwards-Helaire

• J.K. Dobbins

• Rashaad Penny

Elliot is definitely past his prime but definitely fits the mold of what I want in an RB2. Edwards-Helaire has lost a step due to injuries, but he is still just 24 years old and could reunite with offensive coordinator Joe Brady, who was LSU’s passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach in 2019 when CEH was a junior. Dobbins and Penny have been injury-prone in the past, but the Bills might want to take a flier on one of them for only $2 million (if that).

And finally on offense, the biggest position of need this offseason, wide receiver. The Bills desperately needed to address this position, and they did so by signing Mack Hollins to a one-year deal worth $2.6 million, and then Curtis Samuel to a three-year deal worth up to $30 million. Hollins will fill the void left by Gabe Davis, who signed a three-year, $39 million contract worth up to $50 million with Jacksonville, as he can block and play special teams. Samuel is a jack-of-all-trades type of receiver who can do a little bit of everything; he can line up out wide or in the slot, he can take snaps of the backfield, he can be used in the gadget role, he can stretch the field vertically, etc. He is a WEAPON and Joe Brady will use him as such, as Samuel had his best season in Carolina in 2020 when Brady was his OC.

So here is what the WR depth chart is looking like right now:

1. Stefon Diggs

2.

3. Khalil Shakir

4. Curtis Samuel

5. Mack Hollins

6. Justin Shorter

*Andy Isabella and K.J. Hamler on the outside looking in.

Although he has an AAV (average annual value) of $8 million, I have Samuel slotting in as the WR4 based on the multitude of ways I think Brady will use him. I also think that the Bills

desperately need to spend a premium asset on another receiver, someone who will replace Davis as WR2 and then eventually take over for Diggs as WR1. It’s important to note that Brandon Beane has NEVER drafted a wide receiver before Day 3 of the draft. (The last time Buffalo selected a wide receiver before Saturday was in 2017, when former general manager Doug Whaley took Zay Jones 37th overall.) But with a loaded wide receiver class this year, Beane HAS TO take one within the first three, if not two, rounds. Not to mention, the Bills would have a top-end talent on a cheap rookie deal for four years, a very smart allocation of resources considering the salary cap.

DEFENSE

I’ll start the defense with the position that had the least amount of turnover — linebacker. The biggest need here was finding a replacement for Tyrel Dodson as that third linebacker behind Matt Milano and Terrel Bernard as Dodson signed a one-year deal with Seattle worth up to $5.5 million. Buffalo did so by adding Nicholas Morrow, a 28-year old who can play both middle linebacker and weakside linebacker. Morrow finished with 95 tackles and 3.0 sacks last year in Philadelphia, a year after recording a career-high 116 tackles in Chicago. Dorian Williams, another linebacker who has inside-outside versatility, projects to play opposite Morrow as LB4, with Baylon Spector still there as well. I think the Bills are pretty set at this position, barring a Tyler Matakevich re-signing for his special teams abilities.

Cornerback is another position that hasn’t had too many transactions to keep track of. But since the Bills released Tre White, who signed a one-year deal worth up to $10 million with the Rams on Tuesday, and Dane Jackson signed a two-year deal worth up to $14.5 million with the Panthers, there is a need for a CB4 behind Rasul Douglas, Christian Benford and Kaiir Elam, who I think still has a lot left to prove.

Arguably the biggest thing that happened to this room was the extension of nickel corner Taron Johnson (three years, $31 million), making him the highest-paid nickel corner in NFL history and lowering his cap hit by roughly $4 million.

Moving to the defensive line, the Bills have done a lot of work up front by re-signing defensive end A.J. Epenesa and defensive tackle DaQuan Jones, signing defensive end Casey Toohill, defensive tackle Austin Johnson and defensive tackle DeShawn Williams, and reworking Von Miller’s contract, lowering his cap hit by almost $9 million. I really liked the Johnson signing because he will be Jones’ backup at the 1-tech after coming off of a very solid season with the Chargers in which he started all 17 games in 2023. The other season that he started all 17 games was arguably his best season, as he recorded 72 tackles and 3.5 sacks with the Giants in 2021. Not to mention, Johnson and Jones were teammates at Penn State in 2013 and then again in Tennessee from 2016-20.

I project Greg Rousseau and Von Miller to start at defensive end, with Ed Oliver and DaQuan Jones as the two starting defensive tackles. After that, Epenesa will probably play the most snaps, but Toohill, Johnson and Williams are all solid depth pieces who have high motors and will also work into the rotation. And let’s not forget about defensive end Kingsley Jonathan, defensive end Kameron Cline, and defensive tackle Eli Ankou. However, there is room to add at least one more defensive end and one more defensive tackle, most likely through the draft; I think the Bills will want to build the pipeline.

Finally, one of the biggest positions for the Bills to address outside of wide receiver — safety. Losing Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde hurts, although Beane said that he “wouldn’t close the door” on Hyde returning when he spoke at the NFL owners meetings earlier this week. Considering his age (33), neck injuries and his wife’s what seemed to be goodbye letter to Buffalo after the season ended, I still think it’s a long shot that we’ll see Hyde back next season.

The Bills have filled that hole at free safety by signing Mike Edwards to a one-year, $2.8 million contract. They re-signed Taylor Rapp to a three-year deal worth up to $10.6 million to take over for Poyer at strong safety. And they brought back Cam Lewis as a depth piece with some versatility. Even with Damar Hamlin as the fourth safety, I still think that there is room for at least one more safety on this roster.

Edwards is a solid veteran who put up good numbers in Kansas City last season and in Tampa Bay the previous four seasons, but he was only signed for one year. Rapp is also a solid option, but based on his contract, I think he got paid like a second or third safety — someone who is a fringe starter who can play meaningful snaps when needed.

Look for Buffalo to draft a safety, potentially within the first three rounds.

MOVING FORWARD

As it stands right now, Buffalo has approximately $6-7 million in cap space, according to Beane. But they will be getting an additional $10.2 million after June 1 from Tre White’s release. I would expect the Bills to continue to beef up their lines prior to the draft, with the possibility of a running back or cornerback coming in on cheap deals.

I will be back before the NFL Draft to discuss some prospects who could and should be on Buffalo’s radar with their ELEVEN picks this year. Until then, you can find me on the Going Deep Buffalo podcast, which airs every Wednesday night on the Built in Buffalo network and can be heard on all streaming services such as Spotify and Apple. You can also find me on Twitter (X) @kevin_siracuse.