The Buffalo Bills shortly after the NFL Draft picked up the fifth-year options for Josh Allen and Tremaine Edmunds. These moves keep both players in Buffalo through the 2022 season and one of the big offseason storylines has been whether or not the Bills can reach a contract extension with Josh Allen this offseason.
That is going to be a significant contract and one that is almost guaranteed to get done at some point to keep Allen in Buffalo for the long-term. However, a contract extension for Tremaine Edmunds could be the more pressing negotiation to get done sooner rather than later.
The reason is that the market for linebackers could see a major jump this offseason. Last week, Ian Rapoport talked about possible contract extensions for Indianapolis Colts’ Darius Leonard and San Francisco 49ers’ Fred Warner.
These are two players who are arguably the best at the position and Rapoport said they are looking for something in the range of Bobby Wagner’s deal that had an average salary of $18 million per year.
While Tremaine Edmunds won’t command as much as Leonard and Warner, it could reset the market that Edmunds could command more after those deals are in place than before. Edmunds has been the team’s starting middle linebacker almost immediately after being drafted. He relays the play calls from the sidelines and has had 115 or more total tackles every season.
He also has made the Pro Bowl each of the past two seasons and has just turned 23 years old. There is no question that he still has plenty of good football ahead of him.
According to Spotrac, there are only two players who have average salaries over $15 million with Wagner at $18 million and C.J. Mosley at $17 million.
If Leonard and Warner were able to reach that $18 million mark, this undoubtedly would allow Edmunds to command more in negotiating with the Buffalo Bills. This will create a challenge for general manager Brandon Beane with uncertainty about the salary cap and Allen’s extension looming.
The Buffalo Bills should try to do everything they can to keep Tremaine Edmunds on this team because he is the future at the position and would solidify it for years to come. However, they have to try to get a deal done before some of these other new deals get done at the position.