The Buffalo Bills have 21 pending free agents and won't have a lot of salary cap cash to spend this offseason. The team will have to pick and choose who they retain from this group of players. I recently wrote an article about the list of free agents, and it's unlikely the Bills bring them all back and many will be replaced with rookies in April's draft.
But who in the group is the most important? Who will help this team in 2024 achieve their ultimate goal of winning a Super Bowl? The Bills need some depth on the defensive side; however, it's not just depth but they will be looking to bring back starters. Maybe they get lucky and hit a home run with a few players in the draft but I'd prefer not relying solely on the draft. My hope is the Bills can solidify the defensive starters when they head to the draft.
Buffalo's defense has some solid young entrenched starters, such as linebackers Terrel Bernard and Matt Milano. The Bills extended Ed Oliver before this past season as well but he's the only interior defensive lineman under contract for 2024 and this will have to be addressed. In the secondary, the cornerback room is solid with starters Rasul Douglas and Christian Benford locked in. The team will get Tre'Davious White back next season and Kaiir Elam will compete, now that he's fully healthy. The safeties could be an issue, similar to the defensive line, this will need to be addressed.
On the offensive side of the ball, Buffalo is in pretty good shape. The entire starting offensive line is under contract and only reserve David Edwards is a free agent. The skill position players, wide receivers, and tight ends are locked in, except Gabe Davis. I think the Bills look to the draft and maybe other team's free agents for help at receiver. So, with that, let's get into the five Bills free agents they need to re-sign.
DaQuan Jones - Defensive Tackle
Jones has been fantastic for the Bills the last two seasons, since joining the team. I do have some concerns with his health, as he hasn't been able to get through a season without missing significant playing time. When healthy, he and Ed Oliver form one of the best interior defensive lines in the league. In addition to the health, he's also 32 years old, so that is something to consider as well.
Despite my concerns, I think the Bills need to make Jones a priority due to the limited players currently under contract at the position. His projected value is set at $6.8 million, per spotrac.com. Buffalo has a few other interior defensive linemen they could consider re-signing to fill this need but none of them are of the caliber that Jones is and are more depth pieces than anything.
Taylor Rapp - Safety
Micah Hyde is a free agent and likely going to retire. Hyde could decide to give it one last shot in 2024 but there is worry about the neck injury he suffered two seasons ago, plus age could be catching up with him. Also, we don't know for sure that Jordan Poyer won't retire as well. He's still under contract but regardless, the Bills need to bring Taylor Rapp back under contract. He played well, particularly later in the season, and could be a solid starting safety.
This becomes of even more importance if Poyer does retire. Knowing the Bills could head into the 2024 season with two new starting safeties. Having one of those being Rapp would be a huge advantage and he would be able to help whoever takes the other spot with the learning curve, whether that be a rookie or another free agent. Sportrac.com has Rapp's projected value set at $5.5 million annually.
Ty Johnson - Running back
I like Ty Johnson on this team and hope the Bills can bring him back for a second season behind James Cook. These two backs give the Bills an excellent one-two punch out of the backfield. On top of that, I would love to see what offensive coordinator Joe Brady can do with these guys after an offseason of developing his offense around them and not just simply calling plays from Ken Dorsey's offense, as he was doing this past season.
That is of course, assuming the Bills retain Joe Brady as the offensive coordinator going forward. They are currently in the process of interviewing potential coordinators but with the experience he gained with the team, the production from the offense and Josh Allen's backing, I believe it'll be Brady for 2024. Once Brady took over the play-calling, Johnson got a shot in this offense. Johnson carried the ball 30 times for 132 yards for a 4.4 yards per carry average. He also added seven receptions, 62 yards and a touchdown.
Leonard Floyd - Edge defender
There is a chance that Von Miller will return to some semblance of the player we saw before his ACL injury. Over the last couple of games, we started to see a little of his former burst and explosiveness. Re-signing Leonard Floyd though, would give the Bills some insurance, in case Miller never returns to form, which is certainly a possibility. Floyd produced 10.5 sacks last season, the first Bills player to hit double-digits since Lorenzo Alexander in 2017.
As with DaQuan Jones, I have a couple of concerns with Floyd. Number one is the age, he's 31 and will turn 32 during the 2024 season, and once an NFL player hits their 30s, it becomes a concern. A player can and will hit that wall at some point and often, it's very sudden. To add to this, Floyd didn't record a sack since the Dallas Cowboys game on December 17. That's five straight games without a sack and includes two playoff games, where it's the most vital. According to spotrac.com, his annual value is $8.1 million.
Poona Ford - Defensive Tackle
This one was tough for me, as it came down to two players, Poona Ford and Tim Settle. Here's the thing, neither of these players is starting material and I expected more from Ford than what we saw from him but there wasn't much difference between him and Settle. Two big differences though, Ford is about $2 million cheaper, but Settle is just under two years younger. So, it depends on what's important to you.
For me, the money at this point is more valuable than youth, which is one reason I went with Ford here. Also, the fact that this was Ford's first season, my hope is the best is yet to come. With Settle, it's been the same player for two years now with the Bills. There could be other players some fans would prefer here too, but the lack of interior defensive depth is a concern. Signing both Jones and Ford gives the Bills a little time to possibly draft a defensive tackle and let him develop his rookie year without too many early expectations.
There were a few other players I considered here, one of which was Tyrel Dodson. Dodson showed this past season he can play and do so at a high level. The problem is, there will likely be some other teams looking to sign him and the price tag and a chance to start, may be more than the Bills can offer. With Milano returning to his starting role next season and Terrel Bernard in the middle, there isn't a likely path for Dodson to be a full-time starter.