Buffalo Bills: 3 Reasons the Bills shouldn’t sign J.J. Watt

Earlier this morning Jeremy Fowler reported that J.J. Watt’s list has narrowed to about 3-5 teams and the Buffalo Bills are a serious contender on that list. The Bills would certainly improve their defensive line by signing Watt, but there are also a few reasons why the Bills should be timid and explore other avenues.

To be clear, I would love for the Bills to sign Watt in the coming days. However, it never hurts to be pragmatic and play devil’s advocate as to why this could actually harm the Bills.

Reason 1: Cap Space Ramifications

Reason number one for why the Bills shouldn’t sign Watt is tied to the economics of the deal. At 32 years old Watt’s market value is somewhere around $12 million annually on about a two-year deal. Buffalo Bills fans know the team’s cap space situation and in order to make that deal work the Bills would have to cut some guys like Mario Addison, Vernon Butler, Quinton Jefferson, and maybe even John Brown.

While the Bills wouldn’t have to cut all four of the players mentioned above, cutting any two or three of the four mentioned above would be a decent dent in the current depth of the Buffalo Bills roster.

Furthermore, people have to remember that even after making a deal with Watt, the Bills would have to keep enough cap space available to sign their upcoming draft picks. As much as I want Watt, I wouldn’t want signing him to dictate the strategy of the Bills 2021 NFL Draft.

With or without Watt the Bills debatably already need to draft an edge rusher, but by signing Watt they may create more need for depth at the interior of the defensive line with the release of a Butler and/or Jefferson.