WGR

‘As a kick returner, Hines returned 19 kicks in 2022 for the Bills for an average of 29.2 yards per-return. This included a game in Week 18 of the season against the New England Patriots, where he returned two kickoffs for touchdowns less than a week after safety Damar Hamlin nearly died on the field in a matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals.’

‘“I think instincts are really big at safety,” Beane told reporters Tuesday here at the annual NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. “If you’re telling me, ‘you can have an athletic guy that’s a 4.3 (in the forty yard dash), 4.4 safety but he doesn’t have instincts,’ I’ll take the 4.6 guy with instincts, ball skills, and a little less range.”’

‘Bernard enters year three as the unquestioned starter at the MIKE position, and is under contract for two more years, still on his rookie deal. It’s a great situation for the team to have him and Milano locked up for multiple years.’

‘The first thing that jumps out about this group is the sheer number of pending free agents. Of the seven players who ended the season on the roster in some capacity, only two are actually under contract for 2024.’

‘“I think it’s still early,” Beane said when asked if either would be ready for any offseason activities. “They’re still working through it. I don’t want to commit to that at this point. Both of them are in Buffalo, rehabbing, doing everything they can.”’

‘For a team that has a lot of challenges just to get under the cap, let alone have the ability to re-sign some of their own free agents and those from other teams, every dollar counts.’

‘McDermott even cited data on drives that end in scores with or without explosive plays, saying “usually a scoring drive has baked into it an explosive run or an explosive pass or a big-time penalty on the defense.”’

‘“We’ll make that decision when we need to,” McDermott said about calling the defense. “Right now we’re just one step at a time.”’

‘There are some big question marks with this group this offseason, and they mostly start with Von Miller.’

‘It’s pretty remarkable to look at the roster and see only one of twelve players in the group on an expiring contract.’

‘Both McDermott and McVay were hired by their respective clubs in 2017 and join six others already on the committee.’

‘While the wide receiver position certainly has plenty of question marks, the tight end group is exactly the opposite. The Bills appear to be pretty set heading into 2024.’

‘General manager Brandon Beane said at his end-of-season press conference that he believes Stefon Diggs is still a true No. 1 wide receiver in the NFL. Diggs’ production at the beginning of the season was certainly on par with that. But from Week 10 on, he topped 50 yards only once, scored only one touchdown, and caught more than five passes only twice. Was it due to diminishing skill? Injury? Was it the result of Joe Brady‘s offense and play-calling? The Bills have to find out the answer to that question as they look assess the position.’

‘Hines, on the other hand, is still under contract with the team. The 27-year-old tore his ACL in an offseason jet ski accident and never played in 2023. The Bills will have a significant salary cap savings of close to $5 million in 2024 if he’s released this offseason. It’s hard to see them holding onto him at a $5.48 million salary cap price. A release or restructure at a lower salary cap are probably the two most likely outcomes.’

‘The only pertinent discussion about Josh Allen this off-season as whether or not the team will restructure his contract to create more salary cap space. Allen is scheduled to count for over $47 million against the team’s cap, but the Bills can convert most of his base salary into a signing bonus and take that number down to below $30 million. That seems like something they’ll be doing, at least in some capacity, if not all of it.’