Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

‘Diggs will be 31 in November, it seems like he’s starting to go into gradual decline, and there’s a possibility the Bills could move on from him after the 2024 season, even though the dead cap hit would be steep. If not 2024, certainly after 2025. Hollins is on a one-year contract and he’s likely nothing more than a special teams contributor as opposed to a reliable offensive option.’

‘The Bills returned only 17 kickoffs for 349 yards, far and away the lowest totals in franchise history. They had 29 of Tyler Bass’ kickoffs returned for 649 yards and one touchdown.’

‘“I mean, you don’t replace people like that,” McDermott continued. “They were, call them the pillars of us getting this culture changed in the right direction and laying that foundation. When you go 17 years not making the playoffs, you bring in players and people like the ones you mentioned, and they made a huge impact on our organization on the field, but also off the field. Their leadership, I think, will be felt for years to come.”’

‘“It did surprise me. I think us and San Francisco, we got a raw deal,” Beane said, adding the 49ers received a lesser comp pick as well. “I don’t want to give a full thing, but we had separate Zooms with the league trying to go through how it was calculated because by even their accounts, as we were checking with them through the year, we clearly had a third-rounder. It was a major blow because we had planned for it and San Fran felt the same way.”’

‘One of the things that attracted Edwards to Buffalo was how coach Sean McDermott used his star tandem of safeties, Hyde and Jordan Poyer, for the seven years they were together.’

‘Toohill was a seventh-round pick of the Eagles in 2020 but while he made the team, he played in only one game before being waived and signed by the Commanders. With Washington, Toohill saw limited duty on a defensive line that included star edge rushers Chase Young and Montez Sweat, but he did get into 57 games and started 14.’

‘Samuel, Diggs and Shakir could be a dynamic threesome, and signing free agent Mack Hollins adds to the depth, plus gives the Bills a big-bodied receiver at 6-foot-4 and 221 pounds. If 2023 fifth-round pick Justin Shorter, who missed his entire rookie season with a foot injury, turns out to be useful, the Bills are in good shape for 2024, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t draft a receiver.’

‘The deal is reportedly three years in length and worth up to $24 million with $15 million guaranteed, and it could climb to $30 million through incentives, a pretty big expenditure for a team that remains hard against the NFL’s salary cap.’

‘Hollins is 30 years old and has had only one season in his NFL career which began in 2017 where he was a productive member of an offense. That came in 2022 in his one season with the Raiders when he caught 57 passes for 690 yards and four touchdowns.’

‘General manager Brandon Beane made it clear that he was prioritizing getting some of Buffalo’s own free agents back in the fold and he has succeeded with six – defensive linemen A.J. Epenesa and DaQuan Jones, defensive backs Taylor Rapp and Cam Lewis, offensive lineman David Edwards, and tight end Quintin Morris.’

‘Buffalo got an up close look at Morrow in each of the last two seasons. Last year he was in on 12 tackles in helping Philadelphia defeat the Bills 37-34 in overtime. In 2022, Morrow made a team-high eight tackles and intercepted Josh Allen during the Bears’ 35-13 loss to the Bills. He also played as a backup against the Bills as a member of the Raiders in 2020.’

‘The big announcement was a three-year, $60.5 million contract extension for left tackle Dion Dawkins, a move that served the dual purpose of locking him up through 2027 while also freeing up what could be as much as $7 million in cap space.’

‘Now the Bills are very close and there are still moves to make – specifically re-working quarterback Josh Allen who will provide more $22 million in cap relief when Beane inevitably converts most of his base salary to bonus. That alone will get them comfortably under with money to make signings, but more restructures – possibly offensive lineman Dion Dawkins and nickel corner Taron Johnson – could still come.’

‘The Bills can’t dip into the top end of the edge rusher market, but Uche would be an intriguing and potentially affordable option. The 26-year-old Patriots’ 2020 second-round pick is 6-foot-3 and 240 pounds, and he’s a bit of a hybrid edge rusher/outside linebacker which could present some interesting usage options for defensive coordinator Bobby Babich.’

‘Trading Ryan Bates cut into the Bills’ interior line depth, so bringing back Edwards makes sense. He hardly played at all in the traditional guard spot, but he was used for more than 130 snaps as a blocking tight end. He made $1.7 million last year, so with an increase, the Bills might go a different way (they seem to like Alec Anderson), but I think quality veteran depth is worth it, especially since it’s unlikely the Bills’ line will have the same incredibly good luck regarding injuries as it did in 2023.’