The Buffalo Bills reportedly signed guard Brian Winters on Monday and to make room on the roster the team reportedly released Spencer Long Tuesday.
The offensive line continues to be a point of focus for the Buffalo Bills over the past week. It started on Friday as the team found out that Jon Feliciano would miss time to start the year after a torn pec.
The Bills were left with some options to replace him but ultimately decided that adding free agent Brian Winters, who was released over the weekend by the New York Jets, would be the right answer.
However, with the Bills already at the maximum roster size of 81 they would have to release a player before they could sign Winters. That corresponding move was made clear today when ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweeted the team was releasing Spencer Long.
Bills are releasing veteran OL Spencer Long, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 4, 2020
Long, who previously was a teammate with Brian Winters on the New York Jets, joined the Buffalo Bills last offseason during the team’s overhaul of the offensive line. Spencer Long was a third round pick by Washington in 2014. He would spend four years with the franchise and was the primary starter in 2015 at right guard and then at center in 2016.
After an injury shortened 2017 season, Long joined the New York Jets as a free agent, signing a four year deal. However, he played only one season before he was released last offseason.
Last year, Spencer Long didn’t end up earning a starting job but was a key backup for the team as he could have played either guard or center. One of the potential reasons the Bills could have released Long is that this does create additional cap space.
According to Spotrac, the Buffalo Bills will now save $2.75 million this year and over $4 million next year. This could be important especially with the uncertainty of what the salary cap will look like in the coming years.