One of the many talents that Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane is that he knows just how important the salary cap is. Beane is not one to normally make deals that will hurt the team financially. Infact, just this offseason he has managed to extend some of his star players to team-friendly deals that have put the Bills in better spot moving forward. Not to mention, they have put pressure on other teams that are still looking to make extensions for their players.
Every single year, Beane has to make some tough roster decisions regarding his players. Sometimes they aren’t the most popular, but Beane has earned the right to make certain decisions because of how he has built this roster since coming to the Bills. One thing that Beane is not afraid of doing is extending players sooner rather than later.
This could be due to getting ahead of the curve due to the market always rising, or even just showing appreciation to the players by taking care of them early on rather than making them play on a final year of a contract.
With Beane already extending some players early this offseason, he should also be considering extending four other players that are heading into the last 1-2 years of their contracts. Whether it happens this upcoming summer or next year, there are four Bills players that should get an extensions sooner rather than later.
4 Bills players we hope get paid sooner rather than later
OL Connor McGovern
The Bills signed Connor McGovern a three-year deal two years ago and he became the anchor of the offensive line, making the transition from guard to center after Mitch Morse was released last offseason. McGovern providing the versatility of making this move and showing off his blocking talents this year earned him his first Pro Bowl honor. Not to mention, he is very reliable seeing as how he’s only missed one game in two seasons with the Bills.
Keep the continuity and make sure that Josh Allen has his center for the future beyond 2025. McGovern is a very underrated lineman that doesn’t get enough credit across the league.
EDGE A.J. Epenesa
Over the last three seasons, A.J. Epenesa has done a great job at being a solid rotational player on the defensive line. He has significantly improved his pass-rush and he started in 13 out of 17 games this past season. The Bills signed Epenesa to a two-year extension last offseason before he had the chance to test free agency.
Now he is heading into another contract year with the Bills. The good news for him is that Joey Bosa is only on a one-year deal rather than a long-term deal. However, Greg Rousseau signed his four-year extension with the Bills hoping that he can be the pass rusher that the Bills have been lacking for many years. Epenesa has a little bit of an uphill battle again, but he is a solid player to rotate in, making him a player for Beane to prioritize extending.
OL O’Cyrus Torrence
The Bills drafted O’Cyrus Torrence in 2023 our of Florida and he became an immediate starter, beating out Ryan Bates for the right guard position and he hasn’t looked back. Torrence has had some growing pains here and there, but for the most part he has been a solid protector for Josh Allen.
He and Spencer Brown have been dominant on the right side of the line for two years now. Luckily, the Bills won’t need to worry about extending Torrence until after 2025. At the same time, if he performs well like he has been, he should be near the top of Buffalo’s must-extend list next offseason.
LB Dorian Williams
This is where it gets interesting because the Bills have Terrel Bernard for the future. However, Matt Milano could be on his way out of Buffalo after 2025 after agreeing to take a pay cut and essentially setting himself up to become a free agent in 2026. When the Bills drafted Dorian Williams in the 3rd-round in 2023, it seemed like a bit of a reach.
However, last season Williams stepped in for Milano (who had torn his bicep before the start of the season). If there is one thing that is true, it’s that Williams is not afraid to deliver a hard hit on opponents. He flies around the field and finds his way near the ball almost every play.
He had 117 total tackles last season and has shown to be at the right place at the right time with 3 fumble recoveries. Much like Torrence, the Bills won’t need to be in a rush to extend Williams because he still has two years left on his contract.