Tuesday, the NFL’s window opened for teams to use the 2023 franchise tag. For the Buffalo Bills, this could end up being one of the offseason’s most crucial decisions.
First of all, general manager Brandon Beane has yet to use the franchise tag in his tenure with Buffalo. So, the initial question isn’t who the Bills will use it on, but whether or not the tag will get used at all.
But, when looking at the Bills’ options, there are two primary candidates. First, safety Jordan Poyer, and second, linebacker Tremaine Edmunds.
Poyer will soon be 32 years old here in April, which might make sense to give him just the one-year deal on the tag. However, then the Bills risk losing their 24-year-old stud linebacker. Both are candidates for the tag, but Edmunds seems a bit more important to the future of this defense at this point.
The Buffalo Bills would have to do some miraculous work in order to franchise tag Tremaine Edmunds
To begin the month of February, the Bills needed to reduce their cap number by roughly $20 million. That is extremely tough to do, especially with a top-heavy roster in terms of annual salaries. Beane did not make things easy on himself for the coming offseason, that’s for sure.
Add in the fact that this year, the franchise tag salary for a linebacker comes in at $20.9 million, and slapping Edmunds with the tag seems almost impossible.
Now, teams have indeed proved the fun saying, “the salary cap is just a myth.” Just ask the Kansas City Chiefs about that one.
But, realistically, it is going to be a tough road for the Bills to use the tag on Edmunds. Beane could potentially restructure some of the bigger deals on the books, converting some salary into bonuses and possibly rolling some salary down the line a bit. But, that could put him in a later bind.
Now, the argument in doing that is also the fact that the Bills could win a Super Bowl if all goes according to plan. So, does Beane make the difficult decisions right now, putting himself in a tough spot years down the road, just to win it all?
If you ask any fan, that’s a no-brainer. But, will he do it? That’s the real question.