The 2026 free agency market is not ideal for the Buffalo Bills. They're in need of fresh talent; Holes are cropping up on the roster and the new-look coaching staff has to patch them. They entered 2026 with their fair share of unresolved issues, and it's only gotten worse.
The WR issue needs solving more than ever. Their defensive line wasn't good enough in the playoffs again. Now the engine of the offense, their line, is losing two out of three in the interior. It was always going to be an uphill battle, fighting the salary cap, but now it looks insurmountable.
Fortunately, every offseason presents new opportunities, but also pitfalls. The Bills have made plenty of bad deals in recent years, and taken swings when they should have stood firm. There will be additions that make sense, and add to their arsenal, but they must be the right ones. The 2026 free agent class is riddled with problems, and there are players the Bills must avoid.
Pending free agents Bills must avoid pursuing in free agency
WR George Pickens
The issue with George Pickens is not strictly his talent. He's a highly capable receiver, young enough to make a long-term deal worthwhile, and his best football seems to still be ahead of him. The problems are twofold, and one is out of his control.
It's the wrong time for the Bills to sign a big-name receiver to a top-flight contract. Pickens is the cream of the crop in this class, but acres from the level Buffalo needs. Acres from the realms of the $30m per season contract he's expected to sign this offseason. The 2026 WR market is a disaster, from the team's perspectives.
The talent level is middling, yet whichever receivers are actually available will command contacts greater than their worth. The NFL is starved for quality receiver play and so many teams will pay anything to get it. Shackling themselves to receivers in this class is a recipe for further cap troubles and a still-unresolved issue.
Energy spent on draft picks or a trade would be much wiser.
DE Khalil Mack
Buffalo has had it's fill of expensive aging pass-rushers. The Bills have dipped into that well too many times in the past decade, and yielded too few results. Khalil Mack may have good football left, that isn't in doubt. The worry is that, age 35, isn't worth the $18m AAV pricetag. He gave the Chargers 5.5 sacks and 32 total tackles this season for that cost; Buffalo must do better.
WR Deebo Samuel
Samuel's free agency offers the same problems presented by George Pickens. This market is the wrong time to be a buyer, and the Buffalo Bills have a choice not to be. With Deebo, that is not the largest of two problems.
The other side of Deebo Samuel's impasse with the Bills is his skillset. He may be excellent at what he does, but he is limited. Buffalo has failed to adequately utilize streaky horizontal players since Isaiah McKenzie roamed the roster. It wasn't lack of personnel that kept it out of Joe Brady's offense these past two seasons, it was user error.
DE Trey Hendrickson
Hendrickson is possibly the best player on this list, but also a hard pass for the 2026 Buffalo Bills. Coming off a season in which he missed 9 games due to injury, availability is a big question. He struggled to return to the field, despite multiple avenues of recovery attempted. Eventually, Hendrickson underwent core muscle surgery in December, ending his season.
Maybe Trey Hendrickson would make the difference for the Bills but, as with Mack, aging players with injuries are not the target. He's older than Joey Bosa, and expecting to make $25m per season on a new deal in march. He expects to make it to free agency, and will immediately be out of the Bills budget for defensive end.
C Tyler Linderbaum
The Buffalo Bills seem to have a succession plan for the offensive line. Sedrick Van Pran-Granger has been waiting for two years behind Connor McGovern. Still, Tyler Linderbaum is a notable upgrade from the 0 years of starting experience currently set up to take over. He's also costly. The Bills need to get cheaper and younger in several areas, and this is one of them. Letting Van Pran-Granger play out is a gamble, but not a huge one.
WR Tyreek Hill
Having been cut by the Miami Dolphins, Hill hits the market. The issue with Tyreek Hill isn't the same as the other WRs in this free agency group. There's no doubt he offers something the Bills don't have, no questions about his production. Football prowess doesn't take priority here.
His injury this season was one of the worst in the NFL's modern era, so who's to say he even plays football again? There's no need to even consider Hill as an option, let alone a marquee signing.