Buffalo Bills Have High Chances of Retaining Mike Gillislee

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Dec 27, 2015; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills running back Mike Gillislee (35) celebrates his 50 yard touchdown run during the second half against the Dallas Cowboys at Ralph Wilson Stadium. The Bills defeat Cowboys 16-6. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports /

With under a month left for teams to sign Mike Gillislee to an offer sheet, the chances of him re-signing with the Buffalo Bills are very likely.

NFL teams — besides the Buffalo Bills — have until April 21st to sign Mike Gillislee to an offer sheet. With that being said, teams have just over two weeks to decide if they would like to add him. Since no teams have sent him an offer to this point, if it stays that way then the Buffalo Bills will see him return next season.

Even if a team does decide to offer him a contract, the Bills would still be given time to match that offer sheet. The Bills currently have $11 million in cap space, giving them enough room to bring him back and still have a good amount left.

In the odd case that the Buffalo Bills are unable to bring him back, they will have the option of receiving a fifth round draft pick — as a result of placing an original tender on Mike Gillislee. It’s important to note that this will come at a cost of $1.8 million. Looking at some recent fifth round draft picks by the Bills, it would be a good route to take if a deal doesn’t happen.

Obviously, I am really hoping that a deal gets done and am very confident that it will. The Bills’ run-game wouldn’t have been the league’s top rushing team for the past two seasons if it weren’t for Gillislee’s timely production. Whether it was filling in for an injured LeSean McCoy or simply backing him up during the game, Mike Gillislee exceeded expectations.

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In fact, ‘Touchdown Mike’ was one of the most efficient running backs the past two years with Buffalo. Joining the team in 2015 — along with Tyrod Taylor and LeSean McCoy — Gillislee has combined for 844 yards and 11 touchdowns on an astonishingly low 148 carries. That’s an average of 5.7 yards per carry, which is quite spectacular.

His 8 touchdowns last season was far more than a backup is expected to get and when you combine that with 13 touchdowns from McCoy and 6 from Taylor, it’s no doubt why the Bills’ rushing attack has been at an elite level. With the passing game still questionable until we see otherwise, retaining the run-game in its entirety becomes that much more important.

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Let me throw some more numbers at you. Out of Mike Gillislee’s 101 carries last season, 39 of them went for a first down — ranking him 22nd in the league. Looking at running backs with at least 100 carries last season, that 39% first down rate ranks first.

His production is almost unheard of and makes you wonder what he would be capable of given a starting role. I don’t know about you, but having two running backs on your roster that can produce at a starter level gives a team quite the advantage on Sunday.

I still expect Mike Gillislee to get some kind of offer from another team before the April 21st deadline, but I doubt it will be an offer that the Buffalo Bills can’t or won’t match. With that being said, I have full faith that he will suit up in a Bills’ uniform and will help put this team in a position to three-peat as rushing champions.

Hopefully that comes with a playoff berth, as well.

With free agency drying out and the draft talk in full bloom, the Buffalo Bills still have a lot of decisions to make. Believe it or not, there are still some free agents that the team is looking at. One of those could help fill the void left when Stephon Gilmore chose to join the New England Patriots.

Let’s take a look at who that is.

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