The Buffalo Bills are among a number of teams reportedly interested in defensive end Chandler Jones when free agency starts next week
One of the positions the Buffalo Bills should focus on this offseason is at defensive end. The first step will be to decide which players from last year’s team are set to be free agents they want to bring back if any which includes Jerry Hughes, Mario Addison, and Efe Obada.
At this point, it seems like the front office is ready to go in another direction and could be targeting one of the top available players at the position in Chandler Jones. According to Jordan Schultz, the Bills are among a number of teams who are targeting the former Arizona Cardinals pass rusher. He also lists the Seahawks, Dolphins, Broncos, Falcons, and Eagles as other teams who could be interested in Jones.
Buffalo Bills would have to be creative with a contract for Chandler Jones
According to Jordan Schultz, Jones will likely command a contract in the range of $15 to $18 million which could be a challenge for Buffalo but being from the area he may offer a hometown discount that drops it to the $10 million range.
#Bills would probably have be around $10M, but he’s from the area - played at Cuse - and wants to win. So I wouldn’t rule Buffalo out either. https://t.co/a3RK7Im9tV
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) March 11, 2022
The team this week released Jon Feliciano and A.J. Klein which helped them get under the salary cap but not enough to offer that type of contract to Jones, even at the lower salary.
At 32 years old, it would be surprising to see them offer a long-term deal but a two or three-year deal could be structured in a way that keeps his cap hit low this year that might allow Buffalo to add the former All-Pro.
Even at this stage of his career, Chandler Jones is still an excellent pass rusher with double-digit sacks in six of the past seven years. He also is from Western New York and played college football at Syracuse University which could be intriguing to Jones as it would give him a chance to return to the area.
It was 10 years ago that the Buffalo Bills signed a big-name defensive end in free agency when they added Mario Williams. Could this be the year they bring in another one to help their defense?