The Buffalo Bills have reportedly made the first of many moves they will make this week to get under and then create some additional cap space. On Tuesday morning, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport tweeted that Mitch Morse had agreed to cut his salary by $2 million to stay with the team.
Rapoport also noted that the Bills’ starting center could earn some back of that money back over the course of the season. This would likely be tied to playing time or end of season awards for Morse.
The Buffalo Bills signed Morse as a free agent in 2019 to a four-year deal worth $44 million that made him one of the highest paid centers in the league at the time. He would start every game for the Bills in 2019 but did miss two games due to a concussion this past season.
These are three takeaways from the report that Mitch Morse has agreed to take a pay cut of $2 million to remain with the team.
Players believe in what they are building in Buffalo
According to Sal Capaccio, there was no ultimatum made by the Buffalo Bills to Mitch Morse to take a pay cut or be released.
https://twitter.com/SalSports/status/1369279736048934913
The fact that Mitch Morse was willing to do this for the team and help the franchise, indicates that players have fully bought in on what they are building in Western New York. After Micah Hyde signed his contract extension to stay with the Bills, he shared a similar sentiment about what they are building with this organization.
It appears clear that the players want to be a part of this franchise, which has not always been the case in prior years.
Buffalo Bills still believe Mitch Morse is a key part of this offensive line
According to Spotrac, if the Bills designated Morse as a June 1st cut they would have freed up over $7.5 million in cap space. The fact that the Buffalo Bills could have opened up an additional $5 million in cap space but elected to only gain $2 million and keep Mitch Morse, indicates that they believe he can still contribute to this team.
The other factor is that if they were to cut Morse they would need to find another starting center and probably would have paid more than what they are paying Morse for his caliber of play.
Jon Feliciano will not be returning to play center
The final takeaway is that by Mitch Morse agreeing to this pay cut, and most likely heading into the season as the starting center, this eliminates the idea that Jon Feliciano could return to the Bills to play center.
Feliciano is a free agent and there are questions if he will even return or he may sign with a new team. Last season when Morse suffered his concussion, it was Feliciano who started in place of Morse and played well. The thought was that if he were to return he could be the starting center.
There is no need for that now so if the Buffalo Bills re-sign Jon Feliciano it will be to play guard.