Buffalo Bills: 3 Potential strategies for this offseason

Bring back the right free agents

Retaining the right free agents in regards to the Buffalo Bills this offseason is extremely subjective and opinion-based, but if they do sign the right free agents this offseason it will give Brandon Beane flexibility on the roster throughout the regular season. As I mentioned on the last slide, retaining the restricted free agents will be very valuable from a return on investment and roster construction perspective.

By tendering Wallace, Bojorquez, and Boettger to their restricted free agent deals while resigning Daryl Williams at about $8 million annually, the Bills would be about $11 million over the cap before making any cuts. This is not ideal, but as mentioned before there are cap casualties on this roster that can be released without concerns of replacing. For example, just by releasing Addison and Butler the Buffalo Bills would be cap compliant, but if they want to be participatory in free agency they now have options of who they can cut to create space for free agent signings.

If the Bills want to be as active as possible this offseason they could cut John Brown and Quinton Jefferson in addition to the aforementioned cuts to Addison and Butler. This would create an approximate $15 million in cap space for the Bills this offseason. This would enable Beane to pursue free agents like Jadeveon Clowney, Jared Cook, and maybe even an additional Johnathan Hankins.

By releasing Addison, Butler, and Jefferson the Bills would create almost $20 million in cap space. Furthermore, if they can spend a fraction of that $20 million on acquiring Clowney and Hankins, the Bills defensive line wouldn’t skip a beat in production because Star Lotulelei is set to come back for next season.

This scenario of retaining the right players while releasing others gives Bills general manager Brandon Beane the flexibility to weigh his options through the duration of free agency and the draft. As evidently shown by his rebuild process, Brandon Beane is at his best when he has room for flexibility and options.

Additionally, this scenario would give the Bills the most options when it comes to the draft. If the Bills decide to let Daryl Williams walk in free agency, they will likely use their first pick to replace him due to the positional value of offensive tackle as I mentioned before.

However, by signing Williams and retaining both Wallace and Boettger, Beane would have the option of addressing either the Felciano or Milano void in the roster with their first pick in the draft. This would open up the possibility of drafting plug-and-play starters like former Ohio State Buckeye guard Wyatt Davis in the first round.

On the other hand, if Beane feels comfortable with Boetgger moving forward he could wait to address the interior of the offensive line until later rounds. This would enable the Bills to select a premier linebacker in the first round like Nick Bolton from Missouri or Zaven Collins from Tulsa, if they fall to the Buffalo Bills at 30th overall.

The bottom line for this offseason is that this scenario of trimming the fat while retaining the meat is the best way to position the Bills for success in the 2021-2022 season and beyond. It gives the player personnel department the most wiggle room in terms of roster construction and decision making while retaining depth moving forward via acquisitions in the draft and free agency.

A steady mix of veteran contributors as well as an injection of youth into the roster is exactly what the Bills need in order to replace key departures while maintaining their model for sustainable success into the future.