Bills general manager Brandon Beane has only been the top executive for Buffalo over the course of two free agency periods. Still, he has plenty of experience and knows how the market works.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday from the 2020 Senior Bowl, Beane said even if a player isn’t signed when contracts expires in March and free agency begins, that doesn’t mean they won’t be back in Buffalo.
“That happens a lot,” Beane told the team’s website. “It doesn’t mean if they go all the way to March and we haven’t got him signed that we won’t get it done. Sometimes guys truly have to get a feel for what their market is before they want to make a decision.”
Of course, Beane didn’t rule out re-signing players before the market opens as well.
“Some of these guys we’ve had preliminary discussions with their agents,” Beane said. “If we come up with something that they feel, doing their research is at their market value or greater then I’m sure they would sign up beforehand.”
Of the Bills’ numerous pending free agents, the top-three consensus are offensive lineman Quinton Spain, along with defensive linemen Jordan Phillips and Shaq Lawson. But despite their contracts all expiring, all three expressed, one way or another at locker cleanout day, that they have a level of interest in returning to Buffalo.
The Bills have approximately $90 million in estimated salary cap space heading into this offseason, according to Spotrac. However, the Bills and Beane have to keep the future in mind as well, in regard to players such as Tre’Davious White, Matt Milano and even look as far ahead as Josh Allen in a few years. They’ll need some new contracts themselves.
Spotrac recently estimated the market values of Phillips and Lawson as $6.1 million per season and $7.6 million, respectively.
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