One of the biggest parts of the NFL offseason are the players who are released simply due to it being a financial decision that is best for the team. It’s an unfortunate, yet necessary part of the business and every team goes through it. The Buffalo Bills are no exception. They have made moves to gain some financial room in the past, and they will be doing it again here in the coming weeks.
According to Over The Cap, the Bills are $12 million in the red, so they will need to make some heavy moves to not only get into the positive, but to build in some room to add talent to this roster that desperately needs it in various positions.
Fans should expect some restructures and releases. However, there might even be a surprising release as Brad Gagnon from Bleacher Report predicts. Gagnon is predicting that one of the most shocking releases could be the Bills letting DT Ed Oliver go.
Ed Oliver prediction has Bills fans in complete shock
"The Bills are again in a tight cap situation, and Oliver is one of the highest-priced players on the roster with a $23.9 million 2026 cap hit. If the team releases him with a post-June 1 designation, it can save $14.7 million in cap space." said Gagnon.
"There's a new defensive coordinator in town and Oliver is heading in the wrong direction in terms of both effectiveness and cost. The Bills will need him to restructure or they should consider moving on. " said Gagnon.
Logistically, it does make sense from a financial and potentially schematic point of view. Not to mention, the Bills already have a rising star defensive tackle in Deone Walker who had an amazing rookie season. While T.J. Sanders struggled a bit, he was also placed out of position due to injuries. The Bills are still hoping that he can develop into a top player.
Oliver has been with the Bills since 2019, and has had his ups-and-downs. When he’s on the field, he can be a game-wrecker. At the same time, he has developed a bit of an injury history and this past season was bad. He played in just three regular season games and one playoff game.
With Jim Leonhard taking over the defense and with the expected schematic change, the Bills will have to decide if Oliver is a fit or not. If he’s not, then maybe we have seen Oliver play his final snaps as a Bills. If he is a good fit, then they will need to decide whether or not what he is paid is worth it.