The first wave of free agency is wrapped up and there were a ton of moves that were made that were expected, as well as some shockers. It took the Buffalo Bills a little bit to get in on the action, but Brandon Beane is always looking to bring in talent to improve the roster. Buffalo was set to lose a good amount of free agents themselves and there is still a lot of them that remain unsigned.
Buffalo got busy before free agency opened up when they made a deal with the Chicago Bears to acquire wide receiver D.J. Moore and they have added a majority of defensive help with players like Dee Alford, Bradley Chubb, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, and Geno Stone. The Bills also managed to re-sign Connor McGovern and Alec Anderson before free agency.
Now that the first wave of free agency is over, we take a look at who the winners and losers are for the Bills.
Winners and losers for the Bills after first week of free agency
Winner: Jim Leonhard
The main focus for the Bills has been revamping the defense, specifically the secondary. With Jim Leonhard coming in as the defensive coordinator, he has a scheme that needs the right players and he has been gaining solid secondary players.
Gardner-Johnson brings intensity and is a proven ballhawk while Stone has been a solid player within the AFC North in which he has demonstrated to be a ballhawk as well. Leonhard also has Bradley Chubb to work with on the outside to not just rush the passer, but also stop the run. Leonhard is getting his defense built up for him and there should be more moves to be made.
Winner: Josh Allen
For the past two seasons, Josh Allen has not had a true No. 1 receiver but now he has D.J. Moore to throw to. Moore was part of a Bears offense where there were too many playmakers and he ended up being the odd man out last year. Moore is in his prime and with him already having experience working under Joe Brady, this Allen-Moore duo could become one of the best in 2026 and beyond.
Winner: Cole Bishop
When the Bills signed Gardner-Johnson to add to the secondary, Cole Bishop should have been the first person to come to mind as the biggest winner of this addition. Last season, Bishop took a step forward when he was being mentored by Jordan Poyer. Now, he gets someone who is not afraid to bring intensity and if Bishop picks up on that, his ceiling is going to be the sky.
Winner: Brandon Beane
The pressure was on for Beane, and it still is. However, he has brought in some impactful players through free agency and he clearly knew that Allen needed a true go-to receiver. Not only has he been off to a solid start in bringing in talent, but he pulled off a huge re-signing with Connor McGovern at just $13 million a year.
To put into perspective, new Raiders center Tyler Linderbaum received a deal from Las Vegas where he is making $27 million a year. McGovern’s deal is by far a bargain especially since he has established himself as one of the best pass protecting centers the last two seasons.
Loser: James Cook
The NFL’s leading rusher saw two losses happen in free agency when fullback Reggie Gilliam went to New England and left guard David Edwards signed with the New Orleans Saints. Cook established himself as a top ten, heck maybe even a top five back last season. Now, he will have to wait and see how Joe Brady plans on opening up holes for him to run through without two key blockers from last season.
Loser: Jordan Hancock
While fans are excited about the secondary additions, not everyone is going to benefit from it and one of them is Jordan Hancock, who the Bills drafted last year. Hancock is primarily a safety and his route to potentially gaining more playing time just took a massive hit, especially with the signing of Gardner-Johnson.
He should be good to make the roster, but he might just be no more than a rotational player on the defense.