Now that Dion Dawkins is under contract through 2024, the Buffalo Bills now have plenty of options to keep Matt Milano past this year.
The Buffalo Bills after this season was going to have two key players set to be free agents, left tackle Dion Dawkins and outside linebacker Matt Milano. The good news is the team was able to sign Dawkins this week to a four-year extension worth $60 million.
This now allows general manager Brandon Beane to turn his focus to his starting linebacker and see if they can work out a deal before he reaches free agency. The Bills drafted Milano in the fifth round of the 2017 NFL Draft and while he didn’t have the impact as a rookie that Dawkins did, he has become a key part of this defense.
This past season was the breakout season for Milano as he started 15 games, broke 100 total tackles on the season and had career highs in sacks (1.5), QB hits (7) and passes defended (9).
One of the reasons Milano is so critical to this defense is the Buffalo Bills like to utilize a fair amount of nickel formation so having only two linebackers could sometimes be a disadvantage. However, Milano’s athletic ability, combined with Tremaine Edmunds, really doesn’t hinder this defense against the run and gives them an edge against the pass with an extra cornerback on the field.
This past week, Matt Milano told the media when asked about his contract situation that he is focused more about on the field versus the business side of things. He was then asked if staying in Buffalo was a priority and he said, “Absolutely. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”
This is certainly good news for contract negotiations and fortunately for the Bills front office they will have a few more options. The best thing from a cap perspective for the Bills, and also likely from Matt Milano’s perspective, would be to negotiate a long-term deal.
Next offseason, all NFL teams could be facing some challenges with a salary cap that could be as low as $175 million. The Bills could structure a deal that is backloaded and may not have as much impact in 2021.
However, if a deal isn’t able to be reached, the Buffalo Bills will now have the option to use the franchise tag if they want to keep Milano. If the team was not able to reach an agreement with Dion Dawkins they would have had to pick one or the other since they would only have one franchise tag to use. The likely scenario would have been to use it on Dawkins as the left tackle position is a premium position on the roster.
Whether or not the Buffalo Bills and Matt Milano are able to reach a new long term deal, the team can now keep Milano in Western New York, for at least one more year with a franchise tag, since they were able to extend Dion Dawkins this offseason.