There is no question that the focus for the Buffalo Bills this offseason has not only been to bring back key free agents but ensure they keep key players with the team past this season. The Bills have been able to agree to multi-year deals with Matt Milano, Daryl Williams, and Jon Feliciano while also extending starting safety Micah Hyde.
On Monday night, that trend continued as it was reported by NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo the Bills have agreed to a one-year extension with Tyler Matakevich. While he may not be a starter on this defense, it was a key part of the team’s special teams unit last season.
Matakevich joined the Bills as a free agent last offseason after spending the first four seasons in the NFL with the Pittsburgh Steelers. While he has only one career start at linebacker during that stretch, he built a reputation as an excellent contributor on special teams.
That trend continued this past season as Matakevich played only seven percent of the defensive snaps but was on the field a lot on special teams, playing 76% of the special teams snaps and would finish with 23 total tackles. The 343 special teams snaps led the Bills and were 65 more snaps than Siran Neal, who finished second on the team.
While Matakevich has been important to special teams, this move could also benefit the Buffalo Bills this season. He was entering the final year of his deal and had a cap hit of $3.7 million, according to Spotrac. However, now that there is an additional year, the Bills could move some of the dollars around to lower the cap hit this season and free up a little more cap space.
These may not be the moves that grab headlines but there is no question the Buffalo Bills were better having Tyler Matakevich on the roster and he will once again be a big part of their success on special teams next season.