CBS Sports

‘Allen’s improved play was one of the main reasons the Bills won their first division title since 1995 and reached the AFC Championship Game for the first time in 27 years. Heading into the final year of his rookie contract (with a fifth-year team option coming), the clock is ticking on the Bills to get an extension done with Allen.’

‘Throughout his four-year career, Breida has shown the ability to produce at a rather high level when given the opportunity. He’s averaging 5.5 yards per touch for his career and 4.9 yards per carry. Back in 2018, he also totaled 1,075 yards from scrimmage, which remains a career high. During his 12 games played (one start) for the Dolphins last year, Breida saw limited action, only recording 68 touches. Still, he was able to make the most of those opportunities, totaling 350 yards from scrimmage, which averages out to 5.1 yards per touch.’

‘While Allen’s rise to superstardom is a welcome sight for the Bills brass, they also know it’s an expensive development. The former No. 7 overall pick in 2018 is set to enter the fourth year of his rookie contract, which is typically a time where many up-and-coming quarterbacks ink massive extensions. Given the dip in the salary cap this offseason, things may be a bit more difficult for Buffalo to pull off in terms of shelling out a megadeal to Allen, but GM Brandon Beane appears to be looking to get it done as soon as possible.’

‘A Pro Bowler in 2018, Trubisky went 29-21 in the regular season as the Bears’ starting quarterback. He was 0-2 in the playoffs, however, as Chicago never made it past the wild card round during Trubisky’s time in the Windy City. In 51 regular-season games (50 starts), Trubisky completed 64% of his throws for 10,609 yards with 64 touchdowns and 37 interceptions. He had a winning record in three of his four seasons in Chicago, including an 11-3 regular-season record in 2018. That season, Trubisky threw for a career-high 3,223 yards and 24 touchdowns.’

‘Last week, it was reported that the New Orleans Saints would be parting ways with Sanders due to their hellish cap situation. However, Pelissero reports that Sanders’ release will not become official until sometime around 4 p.m. ET on Wednesday due to cap reasons. Once officially released by the Saints, Sanders is reportedly slated to fly to Buffalo on Thursday to take a physical and then finalize the deal. In his one season with the Saints, Sanders caught 61 passes for 726 yards and five touchdowns in 14 games played while boasting a career-high 74.4% catch rate. Sanders is set to turn 34 years old on Wednesday, but has proven that he’s still a threat in the secondary and knows how to get open.’

‘According to NFL Network’s Mike Silver, the longtime Patriots standout considered joining the Buffalo Bills, his ex-AFC East rivals, before re-signing in Tampa.’

‘The 102nd pick in the 2015 draft, the 6-foot-6, 330-pound Williams started two games during his rookie season. That season, Williams helped the Panthers win a franchise-record 15 regular-season games en route to an NFC title. Williams broke into the starting lineup in 2016 and made a career-high 16 starts during the 2018 season. After injuries limited him to just one game in 2018, Williams made 12 starts in 2019, his final season with the Panthers.’

‘Needless to say, this is quite the coup for Buffalo. Milano was expected to test the free agent market and many assumed — including those within the organization — that he would likely be lost upon hitting free agency with a number of teams driving up the price for his services thus making him too expensive for the Bills to retain.’

‘When healthy, Brown was both a big-play threat and favorite option for Allen in the passing game. The Bills fared well while the wideout battled his ankle injury throughout 2020, however, with trade acquisition Stefon Diggs taking over as the No. 1 receiver and leading the NFL with 127 catches for 1,535 yards. Fourth-round draft pick Gabriel Davis also flashed in place of Brown, scoring seven times and averaging more than 17 yards per reception as one of the Bills’ top downfield weapons.’

‘A seventh-round pick in the 2018 draft, Smith spent the first two years of his career with the Panthers. Just before the start of the 2020 season, he was traded to Buffalo in exchange for a 2023 conditional seventh-round pick. Smith played in 12 regular-season games last season, recording a career-high nine tackles. In the Bills’ Week 17 win over the Dolphins, Smith tallied five tackles (one for loss) and his first career forced fumble. Smith was largely used on special teams; he took part in at least 53% of the Bills’ special teams snaps in each of his 15 active games (including the postseason).’

‘Hyde has continued to be an integral part of the Bills’ defense. He finished fifth on the team in tackles last season while helping the Bills reach their first AFC title game since 1993. The Bills, with about 6,700 fans permitted inside Bills Stadium, won their first home playoff game in over a quarter century after defeating the Colts in the wild-card round. Buffalo followed that win with a 17-3 win over Lamar Jackson and the Ravens in the divisional round.’

‘”It was a hell of a season that we had,” said Diggs, who had six catches for 77 yards on 11 targets against Kansas City. “Just going into that new chapter for me with my new team. So many good things happened. To come up short in that moment I felt like I let my team down from my point of view. I felt like I could have done more. I wanted to remember that moment, I wanted to embrace it in its totality and have an appreciation of it and grow from it. I needed to go through that and see it because I know I’m a champion, and one day I will be.”‘

‘”It was such a great room,” Davis said about Buffalo’s wide receiving corps. “That room was the tightest, I feel, in the whole NFL. I learned a lot of things from the guys in front of me. … These guys are different when it comes to playing receiver and I just tried to pick up everything that I could.”‘

‘The Bills are looking at an estimated $3 million in cap space this offseason with the reported minimum salary cap being set by the league at $180 million. That’s down from the $198 million last year and one of the main reasons why Buffalo is just one of many clubs needing to either make players on the roster cap casualties and cut them or simply let them walk because they can’t afford them.’

‘The Bills were one of the teams named by ESPN’s Ed Werder when he reported last week that approximately a dozen teams had shown interest in Watt since the Texans released him. The Bills are coming off of an impressive 13-3 season which ended in the AFC Championship Game. Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs became a dynamic duo that was almost unstoppable on offense, and the defense improved as the year went on as well. Buffalo also employs a scheme that features four down linemen, which could be something attractive to Watt.’