The majority of the Buffalo Bills’ free agency moves have been adding to the defense, specifically in the secondary. Up to this point, the Bills have made 4 defensive signings with Dee Alford, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Geno Stone, and Bradley Chubb. With a new defensive coordinator, fans should be seeing a good amount of change.
As for the offense, the only new free agent signing was bringing in backup quarterback Kyle Allen. The Bills have also extended Alec Anderson, Connor McGovern, and Dawson Know. In addition, they also traded for D.J. Moore to give Josh Allen a new weapon in the passing attack.
Buffalo currently has over $13 million in cap space to use per Spotrac. So, they should be considering bringing in another free agent or two prior to the draft.
At the same time, the Bills may want to strongly consider looking at their players who are heading into a contract year after 2026 and see if an extension can get done. One obvious player that the Bills should be strongly considering extending prior to the 2026 season is Dorian Williams.
Dorian Williams should be strong candidate for extension by Bills
With the Bills switching to a 3-4 defense under Jim Leonhard, they need to add more linebacker help. Specifically with the inside linebacker position, the Bills only have Terrel Bernard and Dorian Williams who have had meaningful playing time. With Shaq Thompson and Matt Milano currently being free agents, the Bills don’t have a ton of depth at linebacker.
There is a strong chance that Williams could be starting next to Bernard come Week 1. However, we can’t rule out the possibility of the Bills going with a linebacker in the first round either. If they are planning to roll with Williams as a starter in 2026, then getting a short-term extension done with him should be a priority.
When the Bills spent a 3rd-round pick on Williams in 2023, it was a bit of a surprise. However, he has turned out to be a phenomenal run-stopper who plays with a ton of aggression. He does overpursue at times but he has had some hard hits against opponents. When Matt Milano was out for most of the regular season from a torn bicep injury in training camp, Williams took his place and he took full advantage of his opportunity.
He ended that season with 117 total tackles and he also had 3 forced fumbles. Williams has starting experience under his belt and now with the defensive scheme change, he has the opportunity to not just shine in 2026 but also become a franchise player for atleast the foreseeable future.
If the Bills don't use one of their early draft picks on a linebacker, then extending Williams should become a necessary move for the Bills.
We see players in contract years excel all the time and the Bills have always been about drafting and development of their own players. Well, Williams was drafted by Brandon Beane and he’s played some great football. Even if the Bills extended him to a one or two-year deal that is on a team-friendly deal, it would be a potentially huge steal for Buffalo’s defense.