Important: 2021 doesn’t matter
And in “resetting the market without resetting the market” the Bills did something that was perhaps the most important thing: They left the 2021 salary cap alone with White’s contract.
As mentioned, White is due his fifth-year option on his rookie deal in 2021, just north of $10M. Keeping that at $10M and not raising it to $17.5M starting next season was very important because of how uncertain the league’s salary cap will be next year. Due to a loss of revenues this year because of no fans in stadiums with COVID-19 ongoing in the country, that’ll have its impact felt on the salary cap in 2021. The NFL and NFLPA agreed on a $175M salary cap floor. That could raise a bit if more fans do get in stadiums, but the Bills can’t count on that happening at this time.
While avoiding adding to White’s salary in 2021 doesn’t give the Bills more salary cap space, at this point, we’ll take anything positive. Leaving White’s salary alone for 2021 could be very important in terms of re-signing other players before next offseason, with linebacker Matt Milano being the first one that comes to mind, especially if increased revenues get us to a salary cap of… $180M? $185M? Maybe more?