DE Arik Armstead
Age: 26
Arik Armstead is also another franchise tag option for his current team, the 49ers. But if he’s available, the Bills should take a look. The former first-round pick had a career season for the NFC Champions and led his team with 10 sacks. But in terms of their edge defenders, Nick Bosa usually got more praise than Armstead in 2019 as the more recent top pick for their team.
He’s played 62 games, totaling 19 sacks, 47 quarterback hits, three forced fumbles and 24 tackles for a loss so far, and a double-digit sack season is exactly something the Bills could use on defense. Depending on Armstead’s future contract, Trent Murphy again could be on the chopping block, but Armstead likely wouldn’t get a Clowney-like deal. Spotrac estimates him at $15.6 million per season in Armstead’s next contract, something the Bills could certainly do.
Armstead would probably like to return to the No. 2 defense in the NFL from last season in the 49ers, but if the No. 3 team in the Bills come calling, that’s a soft dropping spot.