Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane got to work restructuring a few contracts before the start of the 2023 regular season.
According to ESPN’s Field Yates, cornerback Taron Johnson and offensive lineman Ryan Bates have restructured their deals with the Bills.
In changing the contracts, Beane has dusted off his usual measure by converting base salary into a signing bonus which frees up salary cap space.
Per Spotrac, Johnson’s deal had $3.93 million of his 2023 salary into a signing bonus. He also had a void year added to the end of his contract in 2024. Johnson, 27, signed a three-year extension during the 2021 season.
Bates had his $2.82M 2023 salary converted into a signing bonus. In April 2022, Bates signed a new contract in Buffalo when the Bills matched an offer he received by the Chicago Bears.
In total, the two moves create $4.5M in salary cap space for the Bills. However, the team was approximately $1.3M over the cap prior to the news, which means Beane was aiming to get under the salary cap with the restructures, not create more space to make another addition.
Bills Wire will continue to bring all roster updates throughout the 2023 season.
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