In regard to linebackers and the upcoming offseason for the Bills, the focus is Matt Milano… but it’s complicated.
Due to the salary cap reportedly dropping somewhere between $180-185 million in 2020, it has long been an uphill battle for Buffalo in terms of re-signing Milano, a pending free agent.
A recent report suggests he’ll test the free agent market as well, so things have only gone from bad to worse.
If Milano does depart the Bills when free agency begins in March, they’ll need a replacement. If that guy filling the shoes is a free agent, Pro Football Focus suggests Kevin Pierre-Louis as the man for the job.
Here’s how PFF recently reasoned that:
Pierre-Louis has shown in his time on the field over the last two seasons that he can cover, earning a 91.0 coverage grade in 2019 and an 83.9 coverage grade in a larger role with the Washington Football Team this past season. His addition would help mask some of the coverage ability lost at the position with Milano.
Milano’s situation comes down to dollars and cents. Spotrac estimates his value on the open market at $13.8M per season. If the cap does land between $180-185M as reports suggest, the Bills’ current cap number is right in that range, so keeping Milano would be unlikely.
On Pierre-Louis, it remains to be seen how much he commands on the market. The 30-year-old had a better coverage grade than Milano in 2020, but the rest of his numbers left something to be desired. Perhaps Buffalo could roll with a rotation of Pierre-Louis and AJ Klein next season until a long-term solution can be found?
The money Pierre-Louis would land is unknown, but it certainly will be less than Milano. He signed a one-year, $3M deal with the Football Team a year ago and it was the first time in his career he made double-digit starts (11) in a season. Maybe he has earned more than $3M like he got on the market a year ago, but he won’t push $13.8M like Milano.
Overall, Pierre-Louis had 56 tackles in 13 games played, including three for loss, two passes defended, a forced fumble and a sack.
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