No doubt about it: Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane is going to earn his pay this offseason.
The salary cap is very much in question. The NFL has yet to set it for 2021 and teams like the Bills, who are right on the fence of being over or under that, and might have tough decisions to make this offseason.
The league announced the “cap floor” or lowest it could possible be, is $175 million. If that’s where it lands, the Bills are over it, currently sitting at $184.04 million, according to Spotrac. If this is the case, cap causalities could be en route.
In terms of names to watch for who could be let go to free up some room in the coming weeks, NFL.com’s Gregg Rosenthal recently pegged three for Buffalo. In reflecting upon the Bills’ loss to the Chiefs in the AFC title game, a look ahead was also provided which made mention of Mario Addison, Jerry Hughes and John Brown:
Linebacker Matt Milano and right tackle Daryl Williams are the team’s two best free agents. The Bills are near the league’s middle in cap space, per Over the Cap, which could force some tricky decisions on players like defensive ends Mario Addison (with a cap number of $10.225 million and a dead-money figure of $4 million) and Jerry Hughes (cap number of $9.45 million and a dead-money figure of $2.1 million) and receiver John Brown (cap figure of $9.75 million and a dead-money figure of $1.6 million). And then there’s the fact that Allen will be eligible for a significant extension this offseason.
Addison, Hughes and Brown would all be intriguing names to move on from. The one that would appear to be least-likely to be dismissed would be Hughes. Not only was he probably the most productive player in 2020 of the trio mentioned, he’s a team captain and longest-tenured member of the team. Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott covets such things, not dismisses them.
On the flip side, Addison could be the most-likely after an underwhelming first season with the Bills. Addison did edge Hughes in sacks, five to 4.5, but Pro Football Focus tells a bit more of the story. Hughes was their No. 18 defensive end in 2020 while Addison landed at a woeful No. 77.
Brown kind of falls in the middle area. Due to injuries, the Bills offense worked plenty well without him in 2020. But with him in 2019, he had a 1,000-yard season. Brown could be en route for a contract restructuring instead of being a cut.
All three are certainly names to keep in mind as the Bills move toward the offseason.
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