Buffalo Bills: Josh Allen extension to be discussed after NFL Draft
It has been a while since the Buffalo Bills have considered offering a contract extension to a quarterback they have drafted. However, that is exactly something that general manager Brandon Beane will need to think about this offseason.
The Buffalo Bills drafted Josh Allen in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft and he is entering the final year of his rookie contract. Since he was drafted in the first round, the Bills do have a fifth-year option that they can exercise this offseason, which is essentially a guarantee to happen and would keep him in Buffalo through the 2022 season.
During a recent appearance on The Cris Collinsworth Podcast, Beane provided a timeline of when the discussion around an extension might take place:
"Josh [Allen] is a guy that we do believe in and we would definitely take a look at him later this offseason. Right now we’ll focus on our upcoming free agents plus anybody we would want to add and then the draft.Generally, you know what I’ve done here is look at guys to extend once we get through the drafts, see what our money is like see how we could structure it to fit not only this year but the years beyond."
This certainly makes sense when considering that Josh Allen is expected to be in Buffalo for two more years. He also expanded on his thought process and how future years come into play. The current salary cap is expected to only be around $180 million which is significantly less than what it was expected to be this time last year. Beane notes trying to forecast out future years could be tied to the number of fans allowed in stadiums next year.
"I think one of the things that I’m going to want to look at is what are things looking like for this year. Let’s say in May does it look like we’re going to have 75 [percent] in the stands, a hundred percent in the stands and just try and see if we can predict what next year’s cap is going to be based on a new tv deal, fans in the stands just to know how we would structure his deal if we were to do something this year."
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While it would be great knowing that Josh Allen is going to be staying in Buffalo long-term I don’t believe this is a deal they need to rush into. Both sides appear that they want to get a deal done and knowing they have two offseasons before Allen becomes a free agent, it shouldn’t be too much concern if one is not done this year knowing the Buffalo Bills do have other needs to address this offseason.