Many Former Buffalo Bills Have Already Changed Teams

Many former Buffalo Bills have already changed teams this offseason. Mario Williams recently signed a two-year, $17 million deal with the Miami Dolphins.

The contract could be worth up to $20 million if Williams reaches three incentive clauses each worth $500,000 a year. Those clauses include playing time, sack, and pro bowl bonuses. It should be interesting to see the Buffalo Bills compete against their former defensive end twice next year.

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Buffalo should be thankful that they were able to retain the left side offensive line by applying the franchise tag to tackle Cordy Glenn and signing Richie Incognito. It will be both players job to make sure when the Bills play the Dolphins that Mario Williams doesn’t get anywhere near their starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor.

That’s not the only former Buffalo Bills player that the Dolphins added this offseason. They traded with the Philadelphia Eagles for former Bills linebacker Kiko Alonso. Miami also received cornerback Byron Maxwell as part of that deal. The deal is not official yet but it is expected to be filed later today.

In return, the Eagles and Dolphins agreed to swap first round picks giving the Eagles the 8th overall pick and the Dolphins the 13th overall now. It has not been reported if there were any other picks involved in the deal. The deal was almost scrapped due to injury concerns with Maxwell but reports are that it is now back on.

Speaking of the Eagles, they signed former Buffalo Bills safety/cornerback Leodis McKelvin. He was cut by the Bills last week in order to clear cap $3.9 million in cap space. Leodis will reunite with former Bills defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz in Philadelphia. McKelvin’s deal is a very simple two-year deal worth $6 million with $3 million in base salary each year.

There are rumors that the Eagles are also considering signing unrestricted free agent linebacker Nigel Bradham per Eagles beat reporter Jeff McLane.

#Eagles reached out on another ex-Bills player who played for Jim Schwartz, per sources: LB Nigel Bradham. 26-yr old has 38 career starts.
— Jeff McLane (@Jeff_McLane) March 8, 2016

Bradham started at linebacker for the Bills last season. He had a bad year in comparison to his 2014 season when Jim Schwartz was the defensive coordinator. So far, Buffalo has not shown much interest in bringing him back this offseason. Most experts believe he would be a better fit in a 4-3 defensive scheme rather than the 3-4 system that the Bills will play next year.

More bills: Buffalo Bills: Three Free Agents Worth a Look

Many former Buffalo Bills have already changed teams this offseason. Stay tuned because free agency hasn’t even officially begun yet. There is usually a frenzy of activity when players can officially sign with other teams which will happen at 4 pm eastern time today.

***UPDATE

The Philadelphia Eagles did not stop their purge of former Buffalo Bills players. Philadelphia signed former Bills cornerback Ron Brooks to a three-year, $5.5 million contract as per Spotrac.com.

The Eagles interest in former Bills linebacker Nigel Bradham became official when they agreed to a two-year deal yesterday. The two-year deal was for a total of $7 million with $4.5 million guaranteed. Bradham’s down year in Buffalo hurt him as some estimates had him making $5 million per season.

Stefan Charles was a restricted free agent that the Bills chose not to tender a contract to this offseason. He recently signed with the Detroit Lions in what is being reported as a one-year deal. He will receive $1.75 million to play for the Lions next season with a $550,000 signing bonus guaranteed in the deal.

According to Pro Football talk, Chris Hogan will soon sign a four-year, $12 million dollar deal with the New England Patriots that involves a hefty sum of guaranteed money. The Bills will have five days to match this offer once it is signed. Buffalo originally tendered Hogan for a salary of $1.67 million but he has the right to seek a better offer from another team. It’s extremely improbable that the Bills would be interested in matching that offer for Hogan.

For more about Hogan’s signing click here.