Bills re-sign Cam Lewis to two-year deal

#Bills re-sign Cam Lewis to two-year deal:

The Buffalo Bills have locked Cam Lewis into a contract extension as his current one was set to expire.

Lewis, 26, was a pending free agent who will stick around in Buffalo. The Bills have announced a new two-year deal for Lewis:

The deal is worth $4 million, per Lewis’ agent Sean Stellato.

A former University at Buffalo football player, the Bills signed Lewis as an undrafted rookie free agent following the 2019 NFL draft. Since then, Lewis has served as a depth player in the Bills’ secondary and special teamer.

He has registered 55 total tackles, two tackles for loss and a forced fumble in 42 career games played with the Bills. Lewis has made four-career starts on defense.

Bills Wire will continue to provide all roster updates throughout the 2024 offseason.

[lawrence-related id=132676,132671,132666]

Bills, Dion Dawkins agree to three-year extension

#Bills, Dion Dawkins agree to three-year extension:

Dion Dawkins has signed a three-year contract extension with the Buffalo Bills.

The team announced on Monday, the first day of the NFL’s “legal tampering” period prior to the start of free agency on Wednesday, that Dawkins has signed a deal that keeps him in Buffalo through 2027:

Dawkins, 29, was named a Pro Bowler in 2023 and was the team’s best offensive lineman according to Pro Football Focus. PFF graded Dawkins a 74.9, the 22nd best grade for an offensive tackle in the NFL (accounts for both left and right tackles).

The full details on Dawkins’ new contract have yet to be released. It’s likely the deal will help Buffalo free up additional salary cap space in 2024.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport did note that Dawkins will now be one of the “highest-paid tackles” in the league.

Prior to the Dawkins update, the team was reportedly $12 million over the 2024 salary cap according to Spotrac.

Bills Wire will continue to bring roster updates throughout the 2024 offseason.

[lawrence-related id=132666,132662,132659]

Bills re-sign tight end Quintin Morris to one-year deal

#Bills re-sign tight end Quintin Morris to one-year deal:

The Buffalo Bills tight end room might be already set for 2024.

The team has announced that Quintin Morris was re-signed. He gets a one-year deal:

Morris was a pending free agent but was expected to be back because he was an Exclusive Rights Free Agent. In that case, the Bills only need to offer him a league-minimum salary for a year and then the player either can sign it or sit out. Morris would have gained nothing from sitting out, so he’s back.

Morris appeared in 15 games for Buffalo last season, serving as a backup to top tight ends Dawson Knox and Dalton Kincaid. He had two catches for the Bills last season, one of which was a touchdown.

Bills Wire will continue to bring roster updates throughout the 2024 offseason.

[lawrence-related id=132659,132653,132640]

Bills sign Taylor Rapp to three-year extension

#Bills sign Taylor Rapp to three-year extension:

Jordan Poyer’s gone and Micah Hyde is a pending free agent.

But Taylor Rapp is going nowhere.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Rapp has signed a three-year extension with the Buffalo Bills.

Rapp, 26, signed with the Bills last year on a one-year contract. He served as a backup to both Poyer and Hyde and played in certain packages which put all three on the field at once.

In his first season with the Bills, Rapp accounted for 50 total tackles, one tackle for loss, one quarterback hit, half a sack, two pass breakups, an interception, and a fumble recovery. He appeared on 421 defensive snaps and another 191 on special teams.

What’s certainly going to be different now is his role on the defense. With Poyer out, Rapp is likely sliding into his starting spot. Damar Hamlin and Kendall Williamson are the only other safeties under contract with the Bills currently.

Rapp was originally a second-round draft choice of the Los Angeles Rams in the 2019 NFL draft.

Bills Wire will continue to provide free agency updates throughout the 2024 offseason.

[lawrence-related id=132547,132538,132529]

Bills restructure CB Rasul Douglas’ contract for salary cap savings

#Bills restructure CB Rasul Douglas’ contract for salary cap savings:

Cornerback Rasul Douglas and the Buffalo Bills have agreed to a restructured contract. The move will save the team $2.5 million against the 2024 NFL salary cap.

The new deal came down amid a slew of roster moves the Bills made on Wednesday, most of which involved releasing players for salary cap purposes. Among those released included All-Pro defensive backs Jordan Poyer and Tre’Davious White.

In 2023, Buffalo acquired Douglas in a trade deadline deal with the Green Bay Packers. He played nine games with the Bills last season.

Douglas totaled four interceptions, eight passes defensed, 29 tackles and a sack for Buffalo.

Pro Football Focus graded Douglas one of the NFL’s best cornerbacks last year with an 82.2 overall mark.

Even with all the transactions the Bills put together, the team is still $7.6M over the 2024 NFL salary cap, according to Spotrac. More contract restructuring is likely on the way.

Bills Wire will provide updates on all 2024 offseason transactions.

[lawrence-related id=132519,132509,132504]

Bills release receiver, return man Deonte Harty

#Bills release receiver, return man Deonte Harty:

The Buffalo Bills are moving on from wide receiver and return man Deonte Harty after only one season.

Harty, who signed a three-year deal with Buffalo last offseason, has been released in a salary cap move.

Mostly used as a returner, Harty never got going as a playmaker out of the slot. Harty returned 26 punts – with 25 fair catches – for 323 yards, including his 96-yard touchdown against the Miami Dolphins.

Harty’s release will clear $4.315 million on the team’s 2024 salary cap. While Harty did sign that three-year deal, the structure of the contract giving Buffalo cap space always made his deal more of a one-year variety.

Cutting Harty comes alongside a slew of other players released by the Bills, including safety Jordan Poyer, center Mitch Morse, defensive back Siran Neal, among others. Coming into the day, the Bills were approximately $40M over the 2024 salary cap.

Bills Wire will continue to update all roster decision made by the team throughout the 2024 offseason.

[lawrence-related id=132509,132504,132498]

Buffalo Bills release defensive back Siran Neal

#Bills release defensive back Siran Neal right after letting Jordan Poyer go:

The Buffalo Bills have released defensive back Siran Neal.

The transaction was reported by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport only a short time after the news that All-Pro safety Jordan Poyer would be let go as well:

Neal, 29, was occasionally listed on the roster as a safety but more often than not was a nickel defender and key special teams player.

Neal was selected by Buffalo in the fifth-round of the 2018 NFL draft. In that time, he only made one start on defense but managed to force three fumbles with the Bills.

With Neal’s departure, the team will free up $2.8 million on the salary cap. Prior to the Poyer news, Over The Cap had the Bills still at over $32M over the 2024 salary cap.

Along with Neal and Poyer being released, safety Micah Hyde is also a pending free agent. The team’s secondary is likely going to have several new faces on it in 2024.

Bills Wire will continue to bring rosters updates throughout the 2024 offseason.

[lawrence-related id=132493,132485,132479]

Bills, David Edwards agree to two-year extension

#Bills sign two-year extension with OL David Edwards:

The Buffalo Bills have signed offensive lineman David Edwards to an extension.

According to KPRC2 news in Houston, Edwards sticks around for two more years:

The 26-year-old was set to become a free agent. Edwards played 148 total snaps last season and Pro Football Focus graded him a strong 82.7 overall mark. Buffalo originally signed Edwards as a free agent last offseason.

On certain game days, Edwards was deployed as an extra blocker in certain packages. Edwards re-signing comes right after the Bills traded one of their other top backup offensive line in Ryan Bates. 

Edwards entered the league with the Los Angeles Rams in 2019 as a fifth-round draft pick.

Bills Wire will continue to bring roster updates throughout the 2024 offseason.

[lawrence-related id=132479,132474,132469]

Bills trade Ryan Bates to Bears for fifth-round pick

The #Bills make a trade:

The Buffalo Bills continue their offseason transactions as the team has traded offensive lineman Ryan Bates to the Chicago Bears.

Bates, 27, has fetched the Bills a fifth-round draft pick in the upcoming 2024 NFL draft:

Bates has had an interesting position on Buffalo’s interior offensive line the past two seasons.

The Bills matched an offer sheet the Bears signed Bates to in 2022. At the time, he was an important piece on the offensive line. Fast forward to now and he’s no longer a starter for the team.

Not only that, Buffalo had an extremely healthy offensive line in 2023 and they played well. Pro Football Focus named the Bills offensive line the sixth-best in the NFL this past season.

Following the end of Buffalo’s 2023 season, Bates stated he wanted to stick around with the Bills.

“I don’t want to go anywhere else,” Bates said. “I want to stay here. I don’t keep that a secret.”

But what made keeping Bates around difficult was a $5.5 million cap hit. Following the move to Chicago, Bates’ departure will only save Buffalo $1.4M in 2024 because of dead cap hits, but it’s better than nothing for a team that is still approximately $35M over next year’s cap.

Reaction to the Bates trade can be found below:

Bills to release RB Nyheim Hines to create salary cap space

#Bills to release RB Nyheim Hines to create salary cap space:

The Buffalo Bills have created some additional salary cap space by reportedly releasing running back Nyheim Hines.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the 27-year-old is going to officially be released by the team this upcoming week. Releasing the back will free up $4.6 million in cap space while adding only $500,000 in dead cap.

Hines was acquired by the Bills just before the 2022 NFL trade deadline from the Indianapolis Colts for running back Zack Moss and a conditional sixth-round pick in the 2023 NFL draft.

Last season, Hines did not play at all for Buffalo. During the 2023 offseason, suffered a leg injury in a jet ski incident which caused him to miss the entire past season.

Prior to releasing Hines, the Bills were approximately $40M over the 2024 NFL salary cap. The savings on the cap Buffalo will receive in cutting Hines is likely the motivating factor behind the move. The Bills might have approached Hines about a pay cut after he missed last year, but that’s just speculation.

During his time in Buffalo, Hines mostly contributed on the Bills’ special teams unit. As a kick returner, Hines returned 19 kicks in 2022 for the Bills for an average of 29.2 yards.

During that spell, he returned two kickoffs for touchdowns against the New England Patriots at home. One of which was the first play the Bills had in a game since Damar Hamlin’s cardiac arrest.

[lawrence-related id=132402,132400,132362]