How the Bills can clear cap space
Unlike last offseason, the Bills will not be going on a massive cutting spree. Instead, the cap-clearing moves seem set to come in restructures, pay cuts, and extensions. Brandon Beane is good at cap space gymnastics and it's coming very soon. First, let's take a look at who could potentially be cut.
The one that sticks out like a sore thumb is future Hall of Famer, Von Miller. If the Bills choose to release him they would save nearly $8.4 million against the cap, but create a dead cap charge of $15 million. If he’s designated as a post-June 1st cut, it would open up $17.4 million in space, and create only a dead charge of $6.3 million.
Obviously, the latter is much more beneficial but that would not help the Bills early on in the off-season. Miller plays very limited snaps and only sees the field for obvious pass-rushing downs, he has not returned to the Von Miller we saw in year one in Buffalo. He agreed to take a pay cut last year that massively helped the team and he could be willing to help again. However, he seems like an obvious choice to go.
Outside of that, there is very minimal savings elsewhere on cuts. For example, cutting DaQuan Jones would save close to $2 million but create a dead cap of $7.6 million. Again, it would be another big swing in savings with a post-June 1st cut, saving $5.5 million, but it also leaves you with a hole at the one-tech spot on the defensive line.
That is where the extensions and restructures are set to come in. The Bills can add void years to the longer-term contracts they have on the books and also convert salary to a signing bonus that will be paid upfront. Ed Oliver who just signed his extension in June of 2023, has a $20.6 million cap hit and is a prime candidate for this. A restructuring is estimated to save about $8.7 million.
Dion Dawkins, Matt Milano, and Dawson Knox restructures are the next top candidates. Those are estimated to open up around $9.8 million, $5.5 million, and $6.2 million. A Josh Allen restructure could save about $9.9 million.
However, due to the fact the Bills have already restructured Allen’s contract multiple times, an extension seems likely to clean it all up. Allen has a $43 million cap hit this upcoming season, however, he only has a base salary of $14 million due to the previous work on his deal.
Rumors have been swirling for a month or two now that the Bills want to get a new deal worked out with him for cap reasons, but also to give him a raise.