Buffalo Bills: One top free agent wide receiver now off the market
The Buffalo Bills could use an upgrade at wide receiver in 2018, but one top name is now off the market after being franchise tagged.
It is no secret that the Buffalo Bills could use an upgrade at the wide receiver position one year after a tight end led the team in receiving, followed by a running back.
Given the team keeps Kelvin Benjamin for the 2018 season, the Bills will be relying upon him and Zay Jones to be big features in the offense. That is, unless the team makes a splash in free agency or early in the draft.
One big name in free agency was Jarvis Landry, who Bills fans are already quite familiar with. But his status changed after the Miami Dolphins decided to use the franchise tag on him.
We have placed the franchise tag on wide receiver Jarvis Landry.
— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) February 21, 2018
Landry is still able to sign an offer sheet with another team, as this ESPN article explains, but it would cost that team two first-round picks if the Dolphins decided not to match the offer. I don’t see the Bills, or any team, making such an offer.
Landry would have been a nice fit, but he was not the only big name receiver to be on the market. Allen Robinson of the Jacksonville Jaguars stands out as the biggest name, while former Bills wideout Sammy Watkins is on the open market in 2018. Is a reunion in store?
Players like Terrelle Pryor, Paul Richardson, and Marqise Lee stand out as other options, even if they wouldn’t be considered star signings. And that is just fine, as long as they come in and give this receiving corps some life in 2018.
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Healthy versions of Benjamin and Jones should provide a spark to the group next season, but some more talent on the field is never a problem. Expect the Bills to be active in the search for another receiver, even if it isn’t for a star player.