With the Super Bowl in sight, the NFL offseason is just about here for all 32 teams. The Buffalo Bills got a head start on theirs, though, after an early playoff exit.
Buffalo faces some tough decisions in the coming weeks when it comes to their own free agents, and possibly cutting ties with some fan favorites.
Although the NFL raised the salary cap for 2023, Buffalo is still fairly cash-strapped. The reason being is, the Bills have one of the most top-heavy salary caps in all of football.
Who is responsible for the bulk of the cap in Buffalo? Let’s look at their top five cap hits for 2023.
Buffalo Bills top salary cap hits for 2023: Dion Dawkins, $14.8 million
Left tackle Dion Dawkins holds the fifth-highest cap hit for the Bills in 2023 at $14.8 million. The 28-year-old was just named to his second-straight Pro Bowl after having a phenomenal 2022 campaign.
As one of the only stalwarts up front on this Bills offensive line, Dawkins is a guy Josh Allen can count on to protect him. Last season, he earned an impressive pass blocking grade of 80.0 via Pro Football Focus.
On 953 snaps, he allowed Allen to be sacked just three times all year long. Dawkins is worth every penny of his contract, although the Bills need to do what they can to build that line on the interior. Dawkins, a second-round pick out of Temple back in 2017, is the perfect example of the Bills drafting high and it paying off.
Hopefully, in this year’s draft, Buffalo can find themselves another player just as good to fill the need on the inside.