The next extensions
So far the Bills have extended White, McDermott and left tackle Dion Dawkins. So now what? Maybe a bit of a hint there while talking about White, it does not sound like the Bills will be negotiating contracts during the season. The two big remaining fish in the “re-sign them” pond is the GM himself and linebacker Matt Milano. Beane had some pretty telling thoughts… at least on Milano.
On his own, extension, Beane downplayed it.
“I don’t know, I don’t know,” Beane said laughing when asked about his own potential new contract. “I’m just worried about players and coaches. It’ll happen when it’s supposed to. Same with the players. When it’s supposed to happen, it’ll happen.”
Now, onto Milano, where Beane did not sound as confident, and there’s some important things to note in terms of all three. White and McDermott’s deals do not factor into the 2021 salary cap. Dawkins’ extension did. Because of that, the Bills are put up against the 2021 cap, so do they have the space to re-sign Milano? Beane admitted he really doesn’t know, even mentioning some guys will not be re-signed because of the uncertain salary cap future.
“As we know with the COVID world and where the (salary) cap is at, There’s going to be some guys that we can’t re-sign at some point. We want them all, but it just doesn’t work that way. We’ll probably… we’ll get through this season, and we’ll see what happens. We’ll see where the cap is at. We’re planning on $175 (million), but, crossing our fingers that we’ll be able to get fans in the stands and various ways the league can create revenue to raise that cap above $175,” Beane said.
That $175M he’s referring to is the agreed upon salary cap floor between the league’s owners and players. Due to COVID-19, revenues will be way down in the NFL so the salary cap will drop. Spotrac currently estimates the Bills have near $16M in cap space ahead of next season (if the cap is at $175M), and Milano’s contract will be right around that area. What you have to keep in mind is that the Bills will need space for other moves, too.
At least Bean did say he wants Milano, though.
“We love Matt Milano, he’s definitely in our plans. Again, We’ll see long-term if we’re able to work something out. We do hope to keep Matt here for the long-term,” Beane said.