The first week of the free agency frenzy is coming to an end and while there are still plenty of moves to be made, the Buffalo Bills kept themselves busy. General manager Brandon Beane had some solid moves, and then some questionable moves. Nonetheless, he kept Bills Mafia entertained every time the Bills made a signing.
Free agent moves will continue to happen for awhile and now we are starting to slowly approach the NFL Draft, which is set to take place in Green Bay, Wisconsin next month.
Through the first week of the frenzy, we’ve been able to pinpoint who came out as winners from the first week, and who were the losers.
Winners:
DE Joey Bosa
Buffalo’s biggest free agent signing is Joey Bosa, there’s no doubting that. The five-time Pro Bowler has established himself as one of the top edge rushers in the league when he’s on the field. However, the biggest hope is that he can stay on the field. He’s missed a lot of time in recent years with various injuries.
Bosa is a winner for two reasons. First, he still managed to get $12.6 million on a one-year deal. He gets the chance to still make a good buck and also prove himself on a prove-it one-year deal. Second, joining a Bills team that is ready to win now couldn’t have been a better landing spot for Bosa.
The San Francisco 49ers and Miami Dolphins were the two other teams interested in signing Bosa, and neither of them are set to make a run at the Super Bowl.
WR Khalil Shakir
The Bills’ first major extension was with Khalil Shakir, who signed a four-year contract worth up to $60 million. Not only did Shakir get his money, but the signing of Joshua Palmer could very much help Shakir’s game. Palmer is a bigger wideout who can lineup outside of the numbers. The Bills already have Keon Coleman so having two bigger wideouts outside the numbers can really help Shakir in the middle of the field.
Shakir has already proven that he can be reliable but there are times when Shakir wasn’t able to seperate well from various coverages. Depending on how the Bills’ passing attack goes in 2025, there’s a chance where Shakir would have to take on more one-on-one coverage if both Palmer and Coleman can cause damage on the outside.
DE Greg Rousseau
In addition to Shakir getting his money, the Bills also paid their hopeful future pass rusher in Greg Rousseau to a four-year, $80 million deal. So, not only does he get his money, but he now gets the chance to team up with yet another quality veteran in Joey Bosa.
Throughout Rousseau’s career, he’s had the chance to learn from guys like Leonard Floyd and Von Miller. Now he gets the opportunity to learn a different type of pass rush from Bosa, who is more of a ferocious edge rusher compared to Floyd and Miller.
QB Josh Allen
The day before the legal tampering period opened up, the Bills made history by extending Josh Allen to a six-year, $330 million deal that guarantees him $250 million, the most ever in NFL history.
He’s had quite the last couple of months. He got engaged in November, he won the MVP last month, and he now has one of the biggest contracts in NFL history. Allen just be the biggest winner from this frenzy.
Losers:
RB James Cook
James Cook is one of the two 2022 draft class players for the Bills that remains not having a major extension. He and Christian Benford are the last two big players from that draft class who have yet to get an extension. With the way everything has played out so far, it’s more likely that Cook could be on his way out of Buffalo after 2025.
The Bills opted to bring back Ty Johnson on a two-year deal, tying him to Buffalo through the 2026 season. Cook is set to hit free agency after next season and with his contractual demands of wanting $15 million per year, it’s hard to imagine a world where Beane makes that kind of investment.
Buffalo operates with a committee in the backfield. Having Davis going into his second season and bringing Johnson back on a two-year deal, Cook could very well be looking at his last season with the Bills.
Cornerback room
Buffalo’s cornerback room is still very weak outside of oh Christian Benford and Taron Johnson. Rasul Douglas remains unsigned and the Bills traded Kaiir Elam away to the Dallas Cowboys. Buffalo is still lacking a true CB2 and depth. While they did re-sign Dane Jackson, the Bills should not be hoping that he can be a starter next season.
GM Brandon Beane
Why would Brandon Beane be on the wrong end of this list? Well, when two of your new free agent signings are facing six-game suspensions, it doesn’t exactly look good on Beane. Michael Hoecht and Larry Ogunjobi are each facing a six game suspension after violating the league’s PED policy. In addition, it was reported that Beane knew about Hoecht’s potential suspension, but did not know about Ogunjobi’s situation until after they had agreed to terms.