Due to the Bills having an expectedly slow start to the NFL’s free agency period, folks in Buffalo probably haven’t been paying attention to the league’s ongoings in recent days. However, there’s one contract that was handed out which makes the Bills look really good.
On Wednesday, the San Francisco 49ers retained the services of stud left tackle Trent Williams. He inked a massive contract.
According to Niners Wire, Williams re-signed with the 49ers via a six-year, $138 million contract. In terms of average annual value, Williams wanted to take the honor of becoming the highest-paid player at his position in the NFL.
Williams’ AAV slides in at $23.010M. That’s just edging out the previous record holder for left tackles, the Green Bay Packers’ David Bakhtiari ($23M).
Evidently Bills left tackle Dion Dawkins had no interest in competing in such games. He signed an extension last offseason worth four years and near $60M. Per Spotrac, the AAV of Dawkins’ deal, by comparison, to the recent one signed by Williams is ridiculously team-friendly.
Dawkins, who has barely even entered his prime at 26 years old, averages $14.575M on his extension. In fact, that’s now the ninth-highest average among left tackles. On the flip side, Williams is 32 and very unlikely to reach the end of his extension.
Sure, Williams did rank as Pro Football Focus’ best tackle in the NFL last year. His grade was a very strong 91.9. Dawkins’ solid mark of 80.6 put him at a tie for the 13th best, putting him in the upper echelon of players at his position in the NFL as well.
And again… barely in his prime.
Many are singing the praises of Buffalo general manage Brandon Beane right now after adding the likes of Emmanuel Sanders and re-working contracts to create salary cap space…
But Beane’s been slinging excellent deals for the Bills for awhile now.
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