Tag: John Brown

10 other players who could restructure their contract with Bills

10 players on the Buffalo Bills who could restructure their contract with the Buffalo Bills after Mitch More does.

On Tuesday, the Bills and center Mitch Morse restructured his contract.

The reworking reportedly will save the Bills $2 million against a tight salary cap in 2021. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic keeping fans out of stadiums across the NFL last season, the cap will drop from $198.2 million to somewhere between $180-185M. That’s a big reason why the offensive lineman and Bills changed some things around on his deal.

Doing so with Morse’s contract helps, but he could just be the tip of the iceberg. There are other guys on the Bills that might start having the same type of discussions with Buffalo general manager Brandon Beane in an effort to give the team some cap relief.

Now it’s worth noting: restructuring a contract does not mean a player is underachieving. Hypothetically, the guy who was the best wide receiver in the NFL last season might appear on this list. Moving around some dollars does not reflect poorly on his on-field efforts. Keep that in mind.

With that, here’s a quick rundown of Bills players that fall into this category:

10 other players who could restructure their contract with Bills

10 players on the Buffalo Bills who could restructure their contract with the Buffalo Bills after Mitch More does.

On Tuesday, the Bills and center Mitch Morse restructured his contract.

The reworking reportedly will save the Bills $2 million against a tight salary cap in 2021. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic keeping fans out of stadiums across the NFL last season, the cap will drop from $198.2 million to somewhere between $180-185M. That’s a big reason why the offensive lineman and Bills changed some things around on his deal.

Doing so with Morse’s contract helps, but he could just be the tip of the iceberg. There are other guys on the Bills that might start having the same type of discussions with Buffalo general manager Brandon Beane in an effort to give the team some cap relief.

Now it’s worth noting: restructuring a contract does not mean a player is underachieving. Hypothetically, the guy who was the best wide receiver in the NFL last season might appear on this list. Moving around some dollars does not reflect poorly on his on-field efforts. Keep that in mind.

With that, here’s a quick rundown of Bills players that fall into this category:

How a trade for Eagles’ Zach Ertz could work for Bills

Breaking down a potential trade between the Philadelphia Eagles and Buffalo Bills involved TE Zach Ertz.

The offseason is the perfect time to speculate how the Buffalo Bills can bolster their roster heading into next season. Buffalo, fresh off of their best campaign in 25 years, finished just short of the ultimate goal.

One position group that left something to be desired throughout the Bills’ breakthrough season was the tight end group. Dawson Knox led the way with only 24 receptions. On several accounts this year, Buffalo’s defense saw firsthand how important a good tight end is to cause mismatches in game plans.

One way that the Bills can improve is trading for an established tight end. In this case, the Eagles’ Zach Ertz should be on the Bills’ radar. Ertz’s name has been mentioned in trade rumors from Philadelphia as of late.

How could a trade for Ertz work? Let’s take a look at a hypothetical scenario that could bring the veteran to western New York:

Bills WR Gabriel Davis didn’t watch Super Bowl LV

Buffalo Bills rookie wide receiver John Brown did not watch Super Bowl LV.

Bills rookie wide receiver Gabriel Davis did not watch the Buccaneers beat the Chiefs in Super Bowl LV. It’s not that he had better things to do, instead, he just couldn’t stomach it.

The Chiefs earned their bid to that game by beating the Bills. Because of that, Davis wanted no part to do with the Super Bowl, he recently revealed.

“I couldn’t watch it because it made my stomach hurt, I feel like we should have been there,” Davis told the Orlando Sentinel.

Buffalo fell in the AFC title game, 38-24 vs. the Chiefs. Unfortunately, it wasn’t really close, but a tight-knit group in the Bills clearly took the loss to heart. Not only as Davis showed, but we could tell right after the game Buffalo’s players were upset. Fellow wide receiver Stefon Diggs refused to even leave the field. 

After that loss, the Bills proclaimed they’d be back. Davis did more of the same recently, explaining that surpassing the AFC Championship is the objective new for his team.

“That’s our standard, obviously, now. We set the standard and we’re playing to be above that standard every single year,” Davis said.

As a rookie, Davis caught 35 passes for 599 yards with seven touchdowns. He preformed well, but at times, was inconsistent. Davis undoubtedly played his best along the sideline though, grabbing several impressive catches in 2020 by toe-tapping the turf.

Depending how the upcoming offseason goes, Davis might be getting an opportunity to do more of that in Year 2. COVID-19 has caused a massive drop to the NFL salary cap and if it lands near the reported $180-185 million area, the Bills will have to find some cap room.

One of the most obvious potential cut candidates for Buffalo is wide receiver John Brown. If released, the Bills could save around $7.9M against the cap. That’s a lot of dough for a player who was also oft-injury last season.

If Brown is let go, the Bills will likely place more trust in Davis next season. Davis can’t replace Brown’s speed, but he’d still have to step up in other ways.

At the end of the year, Buffalo general manager Brandon Beane did not jump at the chance to name Davis his No. 2 wide receiver behind Diggs… but for what it’s worth, he certainly sounded confident in him.

“I don’t want to put that on him but I don’t think Gabe is near his ceiling,” Beane said. “Thought he wasn’t a rookie by end of year because of how much he played.”

Finding a way to get Brown and Davis both back into the fold is not something that should be off the table for the Bills. Regardless, as the start of free agency on March 17 approaches, it’s a storyline to follow this offseason.

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Buffalo Bills roster analysis: Wide receiver

Analyzing the Buffalo Bills’ roster at the wide receiver position, including Stefon Diggs, John Brown and Cole Beasley.

The Buffalo Bills had an excellent 2020 season as a team, but position-by-position is a different story. Some were better than others and as the offseason is now in full swing, Bills Wire will give a quick analysis of the team’s current roster by reflecting on the season that was and looking ahead to 2021.

Next up, here is our breakdown on the team’s wide receiver unit:

11 potential salary cap casualties, cuts for Bills this offseason

11 players that could save the Buffalo Bills salary cap space in 2021 if cut.

The Buffalo Bills have some tough decisions to make this offseason and one could assume that cutting players is amongst the hardest jobs for a front office to make. Now throw in a pandemic? Those decisions likely get even tougher.

Bills general manager Brandon Beane and head coach Sean McDermott are in this exactly situation. The latest reports suggest the 2021 NFL salary cap will drop to between $180-185 million.

Per Spotac, if maxed out at $185M, the Bills still only have around $3M of cap space to work with. Translation: Beane and McDermott are going to have to find ways to make more cap room in the coming weeks and there’s only one way to do that: Cap casualties/ cuts.

The way NFL contracts are structured, not every player will save a team money against the salary cap if released. Some actually cost teams more to do so during certain times of a deal, while others make total sense. In some scenarios, the best route is even restructuring a deal.

In an effort to see where the Bills might be looking at to find salary cap space, here are 11 salary cap casualties the Bills could make this offseason:

John Brown post puts Buffalo Bills future in question

Buffalo Bills WR John Brown’s post on Instagram puts Buffalo Bills future in question.

Buffalo Bills wide receiver John Brown acknowledged in a social media post that his future with the team is in question.

Brown posted to his Instagram on Monday wearing a Falcons jersey which appears to be a series of photos of him likely taken during Sunday’s Super Bowl LV between the Chiefs and Bucs. The interesting part comes in the comments.

There, Brown responds to a fan who makes reference to him potentially leaving Buffalo this offseason. Brown’s response isn’t one that reassures he’ll be around in 2021, rather, he indicates he’ll be “ready for anything.”

Here’s a screen shot of the post:

It has recently been speculated that Brown, 30, could no longer be part of the Bills in the future because of the business side of things.

The NFL salary cap in 2021 is currently up in the air because of financial difficulties caused by COVID-19 this past year. The cap could be set anywhere between $175-185 million.

Currently the Bills sit right around $185M. The actual number really doesn’t matter much at this point because regardless, the Bills will need to find ways to make more room in order to sign new players and re-sign some of their own. Cutting John Brown might be a way to do so.

According to Spotrac, the Bills could save approximately $7.9M by cutting him this offseason as his cap hit sits near $9.5M and his dead cap drops from $10.85M to only $1.6M in 2021. Another option the Bills may have is to restructure his contract.

There are currently no official updates on either, but both should be on the table for Buffalo general manager Brandon Beane.

After a strong start to his Bills career in 2019 which included a 1,000-yard season (1,060), Brown had a down 2020 due to injury. He was held to only nine games and had 33 catches and 458 yards with three touchdowns.

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3 Bills players pegged as potential cap casualties this offseason

Buffalo Bills WR John Brown, DE Jerry Hughes, DE Mario Addison pegged as potential cap causalities by NFL.com.

No doubt about it: Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane is going to earn his pay this offseason.

The salary cap is very much in question. The NFL has yet to set it for 2021 and teams like the Bills, who are right on the fence of being over or under that, and might have tough decisions to make this offseason.

The league announced the “cap floor” or lowest it could possible be, is $175 million. If that’s where it lands, the Bills are over it, currently sitting at $184.04 million, according to Spotrac. If this is the case, cap causalities could be en route.

In terms of names to watch for who could be let go to free up some room in the coming weeks, NFL.com’s Gregg Rosenthal recently pegged three for Buffalo. In reflecting upon the Bills’ loss to the Chiefs in the AFC title game, a look ahead was also provided which made mention of Mario Addison, Jerry Hughes and John Brown:

Linebacker Matt Milano and right tackle Daryl Williams are the team’s two best free agents. The Bills are near the league’s middle in cap space, per Over the Cap, which could force some tricky decisions on players like defensive ends Mario Addison (with a cap number of $10.225 million and a dead-money figure of $4 million) and Jerry Hughes (cap number of $9.45 million and a dead-money figure of $2.1 million) and receiver John Brown (cap figure of $9.75 million and a dead-money figure of $1.6 million). And then there’s the fact that Allen will be eligible for a significant extension this offseason.

Addison, Hughes and Brown would all be intriguing names to move on from. The one that would appear to be least-likely to be dismissed would be Hughes. Not only was he probably the most productive player in 2020 of the trio mentioned, he’s a team captain and longest-tenured member of the team. Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott covets such things, not dismisses them.

On the flip side, Addison could be the most-likely after an underwhelming first season with the Bills. Addison did edge Hughes in sacks, five to 4.5, but Pro Football Focus tells a bit more of the story. Hughes was their No. 18 defensive end in 2020 while Addison landed at a woeful No. 77.

Brown kind of falls in the middle area. Due to injuries, the Bills offense worked plenty well without him in 2020. But with him in 2019, he had a 1,000-yard season. Brown could be en route for a contract restructuring instead of being a cut.

All three are certainly names to keep in mind as the Bills move toward the offseason.

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8 studs, 4 duds in Bills’ 17-3 win over the Ravens

Buffalo Bills studs and duds from 17-3 win over Baltimore Ravens in AFC Divisional round.

The Buffalo Bills won by fine margins against the Baltimore Ravens in the Divisional round of the playoffs, 17-3. It also came in the reserve fashion that we’re used to.

The Bills defense led the way while the offense did just enough. Buffalo had become accustomed doing to the opposite in 2020. But a win is a win.

With that, Bills Wire had eight studs and four duds from the Bills’ Divisional win over the Ravens here:

Bills defensive end Jerry Hughes. (AP Photo/John Munson)

Studs

CB Taron Johnson

What do we need to say? You know the entire story here. Taron Johnson’s interception could go down as one of the biggest play in Bills history depending on how far this team goes moving forward.

WR Stefon Diggs

Bills quarterback Josh Allen had 206 passing yards and 106 of them went to Stefon Diggs via eight catches. Diggs also scored Buffalo’s lone touchdown on offense. Diggs was impressive, in particular, moving the chains with his catches.

WR John Brown

John Brown had a big block with Gabe Davis on Diggs’ touchdown catch. Brown also kind of took Davis’ job from last week, didn’t he? After not having a catch last week, Brown had eight for 62 yards against the Ravens, often working the sideline on his routes in an impressive manner.

DC Leslie Frazier

We’ll get to some individual players on defense, but defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier deserves some love first and foremost. He, and head coach Sean McDermott, schemed up a perfect plan to contain Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson. In addition, Frazier is also Buffalo’s play-caller for the defense. Masterful job at that as well by Frazier.

LB Matt Milano

Jack Doyle, Mo Alie-Cox, and Trey Burton combined for 14 catches for 136 yards, a touchdown, and a two-point conversion catch against the Bills last week. Matt Milano didn’t do a good job against any of them. He turned it around in a massive way against the Ravens, helping shutdown tight end Mark Andrews. On a massive 11 targets, Andrews had four catches for 28 yards.

Milano ended up contributing two passes defended in the game. One huge one against Andrews came on third down near midfield.

LB Tremaine Edmunds

Tremaine Edmunds led the Bills with nine total tackles and his sideline-to-sideline skills were on display early. He tracked down Jackson to end two early drives quickly and was a big part in shutting down the quarterback all game long.

OL Mitch Morse

Kudos to Mitch Morse for his bounce-back effort. He had a tough game vs. the Colts, but held Calais Campbell at bay for most of the game against the Ravens. While the Bills didn’t really run the ball much, Morse did put his mobility on display when they did, getting to the second-level to help multiple time. The entire interior of the Bills’ offensive line preformed well in pass protection, not allowing a single sack. Both of the Ravens’ takeaways came off the edge.

DE Jerry Hughes

The longest tenured member of the Bills had two sacks on Jackson and pressured him throughout the game. It was poetic justice to see a guy that’s been around Buffalo for so long have such an impact in a huge game.

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Instant analysis: Bills defense stands tall in win vs. Ravens

The Buffalo Bills won the AFC Divisional round matchup with the Baltimore Ravens.

The Buffalo Bills are moving onto the AFC Championship game after a 17-3 victory over the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday in a game that featured two defenses who were on a mission. Not exactly the way many drew up this game at first.

The first half was a challenge for both offenses to move the ball. Baltimore had some success at the start of the game, gashing the Bills on the ground. However, the Ravens could not breakthrough Buffalo’s defense in the red zone. The Bills forced two Baltimore field goals, each of which hit the uprights. On their last possession of the half, the Ravens kicker Justin Tucker made a 34-yard field goal to get Baltimore on the board.

Buffalo could only muster three points during the half as well, as Tyler Bass made one of two field goals in the half. The teams entered the intermission tied, 3-3.

Buffalo’s offensive plan was obvious from the start. They attempted 22 passes compared to two rushes. Of those two rushes, one was a Josh Allen scramble. The quarterback went 13-of-22 for 120 passing yards in the first half. The Ravens did what many defense struggled to do against Buffalo: Limit explosive plays by the Bills’ playmakers.

Buffalo’s offensive game plan altered a little bit in the second half because of that. The Bills shifted to a passing attack that focused on shorter routes. They also got running back Devin Singletary involved in the mix, as he had four touches on the half’s opening drive. Finally, the Bills broke through, as Allen found Stefon Diggs on a wide receiver screen from three yards out to score what would be the game’s only offensive touchdown.

Baltimore responded with a long drive of their own, pushing the ball inside Buffalo’s 10 on a 15-play drive. However, the play of the game occurred when Bills cornerback Taron Johnson intercepted Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson and returned the pick for a touchdown. The 101-yard return gave the Bills a 17-3 lead. With the way the defense was playing for Buffalo, the two-score deficit would be too much for Baltimore to overcome.

Things went from bad to worse for the Ravens on the next drive, as  Jackson suffered a concussion. On the final play of the third quarter, the snap went over Jackson’s head. Jackson scurried to recover the ball and throw a pass out of bounds. The play, in which Jackson was flagged for intentional grounding, ended with Jackson taking a hard hit in the Bills’ end zone. This would be Jackson’s final play of the game.

Buffalo would force two turnover-on-downs situations from Baltimore for the remainder of the game. The Bills defense sealed the game away, sending the team off their first AFC Championship game since the 1993 season.

There are multiple occasions where unit was able to generate a strong pass rush with only the front four attacking Jackson. When they couldn’t get to the quarterback, thevBills  worked to limit Jackson’s ability to break out with a big run. Baltimore did find some success with the ground game, but they could not breakthrough.  The Bills defense made a concerted effort to not allow Jackson to get comfortable as a runner or in the pocket. When the Bills needed to bring some more pressure, they were successful with corner blitzes from Levi Wallace and Taron Johnson.

Leading the way, Jerry Hughes recorded two sacks, while Wallace and Mario Addison added one. The Ravens passing attack could not figure out Buffalo’s zone defense. The Bills allowed only 190 net passing yards in the game.

Buffalo’s passing attack was stalled out by the Ravens secondary. The Ravens forced the Bills into moving away from explosive plays, settling for shorter passes. Diggs had another great game, catching eight passes for 106 yards and a touchdown. John Brown looked more like himself this week, reeling in eight passes for 62 receiving yards.

It was an impressive effort for Buffalo’s defense. Defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier showed that the unit can adjust for their opponents and come out victorious.

Buffalo will take on the winner of the game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Cleveland Browns on Sunday in their next bout. If Kansas City wins, Buffalo will travel to Arrowhead Field next Sunday. If Cleveland wins, there will be one more game played at Bills Stadium.

No matter what, Buffalo is slated to kick off at 6:40 next Sunday.

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