As the Bills wrapped up the season that was in 2020, the prominent front office figures pulling the strings ended the season as they always do, by stepping up to the podium and answering questions.
Buffalo general manager Brandon Beane and head coach Sean McDermott spoke last week for just under two hours combined. As most would figure, much of their conversations surrounded their those currently on the roster.
Many players were mentioned by the pair, for better or for worse. Moving forward, some of these comments could provide some insight into what the future could hold for the Bills.
In an effort to breakdown these conversations, Bills Wire will breakdown who was a winner and who was a loser from these pressers last week:
Losers
2020 free agents
The Bills were players in last year’s free agency market and without naming names, Beane essentially said he made some mistakes. The 2021 salary cap is all messed up because of COVID-19 and it might actually drop to as low as $175 million instead of increasing like it essentially does every year.
That’s going to cause the Bills to have salary cap struggles this offseason, but looking back, the GM did say he would have done things differently.
“It’s one of those things you wish we knew a year ago, maybe we wouldn’t have made every move that we did. Maybe we wouldn’t have been so aggressive in some areas,” Beane said.
High-profile free agents added last offseason included Mario Addison, Quinton Jefferson, and Vernon Butler. All defensive linemen, a position group which had mixed results this past season. Beane isn’t loving those signings he made from the sounds of it.
OL Jon Feliciano
Combining two things, the future outlook for guard Jon Feliciano doesn’t look great with Buffalo. Again, because of that salary cap situation, it’s going to be hard for the Bills to keep everyone and on the offensive line the two top free agents are Feliciano and tackle Daryl Williams. Beane didn’t beat around the bush when discussing if he can get them both back.
“Whether we can get them back? I don’t know,” Beane said.
Beane went on to not only mention he might have to look for “cost-efficient replacements,” but also praised the hell out of Cody Ford, who was playing in Feliciano’s guard position before being lost for the year due to injury.
Kind of putting both of those together does not bode well for Feliciano.
LB Matt Milano
Beane outright put out there that the concern with brining Matt Milano back will be his health. He was oft-injured in 2020, and the GM saying that kind of indicates that this will be his “bargaining chip” in terms of signing Milano to an extension.
The Bills would “love” to bring Milano back, per Beane, however, along with brining up Milano’s health, there was pretty much zero positive vibes from the team in terms of getting Milano back in the fold next year. Again, the salary cap does not help here.
TE Dawson Knox
Pretty damming thoughts on the tight end group by Beane, which specifically doesn’t bode well for Dawson Knox.
“I thought it was up and down,” Beane said. “It was never where the opposing defense was like, ‘Man we’ve really got to stop their tight ends from going off.’”
Also probably some bad luck for Knox & Co. having to see Travis Kelce in Buffalo’s final game of the season…. The Bills should probably look to improve here. The interesting thought is their QB, though. Josh Allen did not appear to be a quarterback that looks for his tight ends very often unless it’s in the red zone, so how much should the Bills really invest into the position?
HC Sean McDermott
Why is Sean McDermott labeled under our loser category? Because he put himself there, truthfully. But we have a positive spin.
After losing to the Chiefs in the AFC title game, McDermott admitted he misplayed settling going for field goals. In addition, he said he was “outcoached.”
Spin zone time: While McDermott does live off of PR-friendly clichés… him admitting his wrongs is a step in the right direction.
CB Josh Norman
Beane was asked specifically about Josh Norman from his time with the Panthers in the 2015 offseason. That’s when Norman ended up leaving for the Football Team. The GM was not specifically asked about retaining Norman’s services this upcoming offseason, but while discussing the cornerback, he never made a notion of having interest in doing so.
In fact, Beane said rookie Dane Jackson is going to get a chance to compete for Buffalo’s No.2 cornerback job in 2021. All… not good signs for Norman’s future.
Future Buffalo Bills
Good luck trying to get a pay day from the Bills this offseason. Beane outright said the Bills will not be making flashy moves. Instead, their salary cap situation makes it so they really can’t. Therefore, sorry to any future free agents coming to the Bills, you won’t be breaking the bank.
“This is not going to be a free agency that we can be as aggressive,” Beane said.
The AFC East
After coming one loss to the Chiefs short of playing in the Super Bowl, the Bills are not going to be focusing on Kansas City… at least from a front office standpoint. Beane specifically said that his focus is not on KC moving toward the offseason, it’s still on winning the AFC East first.
“I still think it goes back … we’ve got to win our division. We can’t all of a sudden put our eyes on Kansas City and forget about New England, Miami and the Jets. It definitely starts there,” Beane said.
Probably a good idea.