Extremely early cut candidates for the Buffalo Bills in 2024

Ryan Bates

Ryan Bates was a restricted free agent last offseason and received an offer sheet from the Chicago Bears worth $17 million over four seasons. Bates would step back in as the starting right guard this past season but that spot looks to be in real jeopardy at this point of the offseason.

The Buffalo Bills signed former Dallas Cowboys' guard Connor McGovern in free agency as well as drafted O'Cyrus Torrence in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft. While it isn't necessarily a guarantee that Torrence will be the starter, it would be surprising if he didn't come out of the preseason at one of the two guard positions.

This would mean Ryan Bates would return to a backup role and with two years left on his contract after this season with a cap hit of $4.875 million each season, the Buffalo Bills could consider releasing him. If they did that, it would create $3.125 million in cap space with only $1.75 million in dead cap.

One potential scenario that could help Ryan Bates is if the Bills release Mitch Morse, they may look to Bates to be their starting center as he will likely be the backup this coming season at the position. If he shows enough this upcoming season for the coaching staff to be confident in him being the starter, the Bills would actually end up getting great value for a starting center.