Jordan Poyer’s future is tough to predict. That fully has to do with dollars and cents.
Poyer. 31, is one of the Buffalo Bills’ top pending free agents. He’s more than proved his worth in terms of talent, but as the saying goes, it’s a business.
Poyer would like to return to Buffalo. Bills general manager Brandon Beane also said he hopes that happens. However, the correct price point has to be found and it’s a balancing act.
How much does a team give a player that’s aging and dealt with injuries last season?
Pro Football Focus tried to give a prediction there.
The football analytics outlet projected out Poyer’s next deal in their rankings of the NFL’s top-101 pending free agents. On that list, Poyer clocks in at No. 19 overall.
In terms of his contract, PFF sees a two-year deal heading his way. It’s predicted that Poyer will see an average of $8.5 million per season with $11.5M guaranteed.
Heading toward the start of the 2023 league year in March, Beane’s team is approximately $20M over the salary cap. Not only will he have to trim the salary cap totals down to meet that, if the Bills do want Poyer, they might potentially need to clear several million more as PFF predicts.
In the coming days before the start of free agency, Beane will be making moves to get Buffalo under the salary cap. Stay tuned for those updates.
Until there, here’s PFF’s full breakdown on Poyer’s upcoming free agency:
Poyer was seeking an extension before the 2022 season, and his performance this year goes a long way in proving why he was worthy of a new deal, but various injuries have also illustrated perhaps why Buffalo was wary of committing to the 31-year-old beyond 2022. That said, Poyer logged 950-plus snaps in every season from 2017-21, so his toughness and willingness to play through ailments cannot be questioned. The 2022 campaign marked Poyer’s fourth consecutive regular season earning coverage grades and overall grades above 70.0, with a lot of turnover in the Bills’ secondary throughout the season, most notably with his safety partner Micah Hyde lost for the year. Poyer’s 92.1 coverage grade since 2020 is the best among safeties. He still has good football left to be played.
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