The NFL combine has come to a conclusion and up next is free agency. Next Monday is when the legal tampering period opens up, and then free agency will officially kickoff on Wednesday, March 11th at 4PM EST. It’s one of the most exciting times of the offseason due to the constant changes happening.
Make no mistake about it though, there are teams that either aren’t as active or go through a period where they lose more than they gain. The Buffalo Bills have been on both sides and with a tight cap space right now, they are looking at as not as an active free agency. However, we know the work that Brandon Beane can do to still bring in talent.
It’s a new era in Buffalo with Joe Brady as the head coach, but Beane has been playing this game for the Bills since 2018. He’s done some great deals and he’s made some bad ones as well. He faces a great amount of pressure considering what happened with Sean McDermott back in January.
At this point, everything is on the table as the Bills have a brand new coaching staff. While the continuity will still be there, fans should expect changes as well.
4 bold predictions for Bills' free agency
1.) Bills acquire more help on defense than offense
With a new defensive identity under Jim Leonhard, Buffalo should have a good amount of new faces on that side of the ball. With that, I’m saying that the Bills will sign more defensive help than on offense. Switching to 3-4 defense, the Bills are going to need to find players that fit this scheme, as McDermott ran a 4-2-5 for many years.
Not to mention, with Joe Brady being an offensive-minded coach, maybe the Bills will focus more on the development of young offensive guys rather than throwing money at free agents on offense.
2.) TE Dawson Knox gets moved
Knox is entering a contract year for the Bills and with Brandon Beane already saying that the Bills will pick up Dalton Kincaid’s 5th-year option, it doesn’t exactly make sense to have Knox on the roster anymore. Not to mention, Jackson Hawes is a phenomenal blocking tight end.
According to Over The Cap, if the Bills release Knox before June 1st then they will save $9.6 million. If he is designated as a post-June 1st release, then they save $12 million. Fans may not like this decision considering that Knox and Josh Allen have a great connection, but the NFL is a business. Unless Knox and the Bills can agree to a pay cut, it’s time to move on.
3.) Bills try to re-sign LB Matt Milano but fail to do so
Matt Milano is set to hit free agency for the first time in his career. He was drafted by the Bills in 2017 in the 5th-round and he was a huge steal for Buffalo’s defense. The down part is that Milano has dealt with some injuries, both minor and major. The Bills restructured Milano’s contract last offseason that made him a pending free agent for 2026.
With a change on defense, Milano may not be a fit in Leonhard’s defense but he is still a very talented player. Maybe the Bills do try and see if Milano is willing to take a discount to stay in Buffalo. Ultimately though, I’m predicting that the Bills end up losing Milano in free agency.
4.) Bills trade for WR DJ Moore from Bears
The Bills need a wide receiver upgrade. Beane has no excuse as to why he couldn’t make one. I get it, the cap is not great for Buffalo and drafting a rookie in the first round may not be enough. The Bills need a quality veteran and that upgrade could be WR DJ Moore from the Chicago Bears.
The Bears could very well be looking to change some things on their roster and with extra young weapons being added the last few seasons, Moore could be the player that is out of the mix. If Chicago is willing to trade Moore, the Bills need to be in on those talks.
Moore is just two years removed from having over 1,300+ yards with the Bears to go with 8 touchdowns. In Chicago’s offense, there are just too many playmakers. Moore played under Joe Brady back in Carolina in which he had some of his best seasons of his career.Â
Now, just getting someone like Moore should not be the only wide receiver move that the Bills made. They still have to draft one in the first three rounds to fill out the depth chart.