List of players under contract and Free Agents in 2024

[boyst]

53 minutes ago, mrags said:

I think they give him the option for a pay cut also. And imo he’ll take it. 

Aren’t you a bigger liability if you have these issues at CB? So wouldn’t S be the lesser of 2 evils? 

no. at least imo.

 

in our defense the safety can play as deep as 20 yards or as little as only 8-9. We disguise our safety coverage and positions often to make it hard to distinguish the deep safety vs the many other opportunities we give the remainder (generally Poyer). If you remember earlier we have run Poyer as a linebacker at some times - especially when we used Rapp, Hyde and Poyer together.

 

The safety position would require Elam to read the play very quickly and determine the quickest route to cut off a play or put himself in position to be a factor. He seems decent at processing the play and he is very fast but his turning ability and cutting ability is not up to snuff to free roam the backfield.

 

A good case in point that is known to see great turn and pursuit is watching Hyde on the Perfect Game against the Patriots when he made that pick. Once he recognized the play he turned quickly to make an angle to get to the play.

[Beast]

1 hour ago, BuffaloBillyG said:

I think it's Tre White's last year in Buffalo...at that salary. Now they could outright release him but I have a feeling that they will offer him a straight up pay cut before go that route. Of course, it's his call as to if he would agree to it, but it may be in his best interest.

Where would Tre play next season?

 

Not in front of either Douglas or Benford.

Edited January 4 by Beast

[No_Matter_What]

2 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

Yea the counter balance for the $41m over the cap is 44 players under contract which is among the highest in the NFL. The maths has been done before but there are ways to get under the cap without taking any of the really hard decisions. The question is how much are they willing to take those decisions to give them the flexibility to re-make parts of the roster (secondary particularly).

 

No. The biggest flaw in his game is his transitions (i.e go from moving backwards to moving forwards or from moving laterally to moving vertically). If you can't transition smoothly as a safety you are toast. 

 

32 minutes ago, juno999 said:

Joe Marino had Greg Thompsett on his podcast a couple of weeks ago.  Thompsett stated the Bills were $29M over the cap for 2024.  He did not cite where he the number came from.  Thompsett said the Bills could make a few salary moves with Allen, Diggs and McGovern to get under the cap.

 

Bills have 9 draft picks but will get awarded another one for Edmunds.  44 players under contract is a great start.

Not a big deal but we don't have 44 players under contract.

 

5 of them (Floyd, Hyde, Jones, Settle, Matakevich) are void years only. 39 players have real contracts.

[DrDawkinstein]

44 minutes ago, juno999 said:

Joe Marino had Greg Thompsett on his podcast a couple of weeks ago.  Thompsett stated the Bills were $29M over the cap for 2024.  He did not cite where he the number came from.  Thompsett said the Bills could make a few salary moves with Allen, Diggs and McGovern to get under the cap.

 

Bills have 9 draft picks but will get awarded another one for Edmunds.  44 players under contract is a great start.

 

I had a thread about that. Full breakdown of how we can get $30M, $40M, even $50M under cap for next year...

 

Thompsett's full plan has us getting to $72M under cap, but I don't think we need to do all that.

 

 

 

Edited January 4 by DrDawkinstein

[WhitewalkerInPhilly]

3 hours ago, Chewmylegoff said:

Overthecap suggests there is an out in Hines’ contract - indeed he looks like the most obvious cut with a $5m cap saving. 

Cutting Hines is one of those "race to the office" moves I forsee to make cap space. Nice guy, had some splash plays, but that's a lot of money for a 3rd string running back/special teamer.

Other examples:

• Extending Taron Johnson and Rasul Douglas. I think there's ~$9 million in savings while solidifying our CBs for the next few years.
• Restructure or cut Mitch Morse
• Convert Allen's salary and roster bonus to signing bonus
• Extend Dawkins (man has been very good at LT, entering final year of contract, we are seeing LTs playing into mid 30s)
• Cut Harty (addition by subtraction and $4 M in cap space)

 

11 minutes ago, Beast said:

Where would Tre play next season?

 

Not in front of either Douglas or Benford.

Safety? Look, it's not an ideal situation and I know people will flame me here but with an injury settlement the Bills will be getting very little while losing a former All-Pro. We have a big hole at safety and Tre's strengths have never been speed but instinct and technique, which would serve him well as a FS. He's actually really close to Hyde and Poyer's measurables.

 

Again NOT A PERFECT FIT, but with an injury settlement we are getting very little cap space back while losing a player who has shown a lot of talent.

[DrDawkinstein]

1 minute ago, WhitewalkerInPhilly said:

Safety? Look, it's not an ideal situation and I know people will flame me here but with an injury settlement the Bills will be getting very little while losing a former All-Pro. We have a big hole at safety and Tre's strengths have never been speed but instinct and technique, which would serve him well as a FS. He's actually really close to Hyde and Poyer's measurables.

 

Again NOT A PERFECT FIT, but with an injury settlement we are getting very little cap space back while losing a player who has shown a lot of talent.

 

He's not a good fit at Safety at all.

 

Cut him outright and save the money, OR offer him something like 3 years/$18M with like $15M guaranteed. He gets some more guaranteed money and we significantly lower his cap hit. Other than that, he is welcome to test the market.

[BuffaloBillyG]

18 minutes ago, Beast said:

Where would Tre play next season?

 

Not in front of either Douglas or Benford.

Well, I think that may depend on his health and how he bounces back (or doesn't).

 

Douglas should be the CB1 next year. Benford is likely the CB2. But if White looks good, could they try and move Benford to safety to cover losing either Hyde or Poyer or both? Does a healthy Elam finally factor in?  Before we simply say "No, Benford won't be moved" or "No, Elam is a total bust" we have to acknowledge that we truly don't know. I have my own hunches, but whatever they decide I believe McDermott has earned the benefit of the doubt when it will come to reshuffling the DB room. 

 

In any event I think having too many CBs who can play in the system is a good problem to have. 

[WhitewalkerInPhilly]

3 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

I had a thread about that. Full breakdown of how we can get $30M, $40M, even $50M under cap for next year...

 

 

Exactly this.

 

I don't love our cap conditions, but I do think that we can bring back DaQuan, Floyd, Phillips, Lawson/Epenesa, maybe a few bridge vets you think you can get a bit more out of and still have a comfortable buffer for our draft picks and in season needs.

[SoCal Deek]

Only one comment:

 

Thank God Harty is in italics. 

[WhitewalkerInPhilly]

2 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

He's not a good fit at Safety at all.

 

Cut him outright and save the money, OR offer him something like 3 years/$18M with like $15M guaranteed. He gets some more guaranteed money and we significantly lower his cap hit. Other than that, he is welcome to test the market.

I'm not saying you're wrong, but I would like to hear your reasons why. If anything, it might save me from my fallacy of thinking of other ways to use him.

Just now, SoCal Deek said:

Only one comment:

 

Thank God Harty is in italics. 

I said it before: addition by subtraction. At this point it's a waste of a roster spot never mind the money.

[GunnerBill]

1 hour ago, mrags said:

 

Aren’t you a bigger liability if you have these issues at CB? So wouldn’t S be the lesser of 2 evils? 

 

No. Safety is more of a reaction position. You can be more of a protaganist at corner and particularly in a man scheme get away with not being as smooth in those transitions because the job is run with your guy and once he gets in stride Elam is capable of playing sticky coverage. It is true though that zone coverage rather highlights his weakness even at corner. I never felt like he was a natural scheme fit for the Bills. Still an odd pick to me. 

[DrDawkinstein]

34 minutes ago, WhitewalkerInPhilly said:

I'm not saying you're wrong, but I would like to hear your reasons why. If anything, it might save me from my fallacy of thinking of other ways to use him.=

 

He isnt the rangy ball-hawk who can lay a hit to dislodge a catch. Between the knee and achilles injuries, I'm not sure he can change direction back there as would be needed. I'm also not sure he is as instinctual or able to recognize what's in front of him as well as some others either (not saying he is BAD at it, just not as good as you'd want in a safety).

 

If we are talking about converting anyone to Safety (specifically Hyde's spot), I'd put the order as:

 

1. Douglas

2. Benford

 

That's really it.

 

I was wondering about Douglas's willingness to go into contact when he got to the Bills, but he's proven he's willing to go in and hit. And I dont think his ballhawking or awareness can be questioned at this point either.

[TheWeatherMan]

1 hour ago, Chandler#81 said:

The name’s Morse -unless you’re talking about your cat. He & Neal will return for the Bills. Such a sad development for Nyhiem..

No they won’t and thanks for the correction to my spell check.

[PaattMaann]

12 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

He isnt the rangy ball-hawk who can lay a hit to dislodge a catch. Between the knee and achilles injuries, I'm not sure he can change direction back there as would be needed. I'm also not sure he is as instinctual or able to recognize what's in front of him as well as some others either (not saying he is BAD at it, just not as good as you'd want in a safety).

 

If we are talking about converting anyone to Safety (specifically Hyde's spot), I'd put the order as:

 

1. Douglas

2. Benford

 

That's really it.

 

I was wondering about Douglas's willingness to go into contact when he got to the Bills, but he's proven he's willing to go in and hit. And I dont think his ballhawking or awareness can be questioned at this point either.

 

Tre also isn't a good tackler, something you want from your safeties

[DrDawkinstein]

Just now, PaattMaann said:

 

Tre also isn't a good tackler, something you want from your safeties

 

Thanks, meant to mention that when I was talking about Douglas going into contact.

 

He doesnt need to be able to play in the box like Poyer, but he does need to be able to take good angles and make the TD-saving open field tackle. And as you point out, I dont think he can do that consistently.

[mrags]

1 hour ago, boyst said:

no. at least imo.

 

in our defense the safety can play as deep as 20 yards or as little as only 8-9. We disguise our safety coverage and positions often to make it hard to distinguish the deep safety vs the many other opportunities we give the remainder (generally Poyer). If you remember earlier we have run Poyer as a linebacker at some times - especially when we used Rapp, Hyde and Poyer together.

 

The safety position would require Elam to read the play very quickly and determine the quickest route to cut off a play or put himself in position to be a factor. He seems decent at processing the play and he is very fast but his turning ability and cutting ability is not up to snuff to free roam the backfield.

 

A good case in point that is known to see great turn and pursuit is watching Hyde on the Perfect Game against the Patriots when he made that pick. Once he recognized the play he turned quickly to make an angle to get to the play.

Ok. Except Elam is definitely faster than both Poyer and Hyde. Their processing ability is definitely better as you said. But that also comes with experience with the position. And the disguises and coverage games we play are also because of that. Because we have 2 safeties that are almost interchangeable with each other. Add in a 3rd safety that has more of an idea what he’s doing at the position. 
 

I get the argument. All I’m saying is Elam is definitely more athletic than the safeties we correctly have now. Younger. Faster. And while I’m not saying he is going to be moved to safety. Or should. My argument was the transitioning portion of it. Because of his athleticism, I wonder if it’s as big of an issue as some believe.

1 hour ago, GunnerBill said:

 

No. Safety is more of a reaction position. You can be more of a protaganist at corner and particularly in a man scheme get away with not being as smooth in those transitions because the job is run with your guy and once he gets in stride Elam is capable of playing sticky coverage. It is true though that zone coverage rather highlights his weakness even at corner. I never felt like he was a natural scheme fit for the Bills. Still an odd pick to me. 

Thought would add your reply to the response also. Getting it all in one place. 

[WhitewalkerInPhilly]

36 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

He isnt the rangy ball-hawk who can lay a hit to dislodge a catch. Between the knee and achilles injuries, I'm not sure he can change direction back there as would be needed. I'm also not sure he is as instinctual or able to recognize what's in front of him as well as some others either (not saying he is BAD at it, just not as good as you'd want in a safety).

 

If we are talking about converting anyone to Safety (specifically Hyde's spot), I'd put the order as:

 

1. Douglas

2. Benford

 

That's really it.

 

I was wondering about Douglas's willingness to go into contact when he got to the Bills, but he's proven he's willing to go in and hit. And I dont think his ballhawking or awareness can be questioned at this point either.

Fair enough. To be honest, I like Douglas and Benford where they are and I am loath to move them.

 

In my ideal world, the Bills spend a late 1st or 2nd on a safety. I'm of the opinion that it's an underrated position, and that no one seems to prioritize one until you get difference maker and realize how much it helps your CBs.

 

However, the Bills WR2 is such a travesty I fully expect that to be top billing. You can get decent safeties on a budget in free agency. The same can't be said for a solid WR2

[DrDawkinstein]

1 hour ago, WhitewalkerInPhilly said:

Fair enough. To be honest, I like Douglas and Benford where they are and I am loath to move them.

 

In my ideal world, the Bills spend a late 1st or 2nd on a safety. I'm of the opinion that it's an underrated position, and that no one seems to prioritize one until you get difference maker and realize how much it helps your CBs.

 

However, the Bills WR2 is such a travesty I fully expect that to be top billing. You can get decent safeties on a budget in free agency. The same can't be said for a solid WR2

 

I was banging the table for Dax Hill in 2022 since he played both CB and Safety. Could have already been converted into Poyer or Hyde's spot by now and still be on a rookie contract.

 

Cooper Dejean has McBeane written all over him, if he lasts until our 1st pick. But I doubt he does. Would still need to bring in a FA.

 

With this WR class I could see going DB in the 1st and still getting a playmaking WR in the 2nd. If a Legette or Polk falls. (A reminder to some folks that AJ Brown, DK Metcalf, Davante Adams were all 2nd round WR picks).

 

 

Edited January 4 by DrDawkinstein

[mjt328]

The Bills really aren't in terrible shape.  The depth may take a hit in free agency.  But if they draft well, the Bills should still have a pretty good roster next season.

 

They do have some big re-signing decisions on the D-Line.  Leonard Floyd, AJ Epenesa, Shaq Lawson, Daquan Jones, Jordan Phillips, Poona Ford, Tim Settle and Linval Joseph are all free agents.  And Greg Rousseau will likely get his 5th Year Option extended.  But we don't need to bring back every single player on this list.  Figure out a way to keep 3-4 of these guys, and we should be good.

 

After that, it's pretty clear that we need to part ways with Tre White, Jordan Poyer and Deonte Harty.  That will clear some space.  We probably won't be re-signing Gabe Davis or Micah Hyde.  I'm sure there will be some options for restructures, just like every other offseason.  That will give us some space to dabble in the later stages of free agency.  

 

The big holes that will need addressing next year are Wide Receiver and Safety.  This is supposed to be another historically great WR class, where we can still get a fantastic prospect late in the 1st Round and double-up on Day 2/3.  That works out great for us.  Our coaching staff is very good at developing defensive backs, so they can nab a couple options to replace Poyer/Hyde.

 

[WhitewalkerInPhilly]

2 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

I was banging the table for Dax Hill in 2022 since he played both CB and Safety. Could have already been converted into Poyer or Hyde's spot by now and still be on a rookie contract.

 

Cooper Dejean has McBeane written all over him, if he lasts until our 1st pick. But I doubt he does. Would still need to bring in a FA.

 

With this WR class I could see going DB in the 1st and still getting a playmaking WR in the 2nd. If a Legette or Polk falls. (A reminder to some folks that AJ Brown, DK Metcalf, Zay Flowers were all 2nd round WR picks).

I mean, I don't know if it's possible to have too many #1 WRs in the pipeline considering what they get in free agency but yeah.

 

We have a #1 WR in Diggs. In spite of conjecture from talking heads, the money makes it nearly impossible to move on from him in 2024. He's still putting up a 1000 yard season on a down year. 

 

The best years he had with us were when he had Smoke Brown or Emmanuel Sanders as the #2 option, an in prime Cole Beasley in the slot and Gabe Davis as a #4.

 

I think we can be productive with Shakir as #3 and Kincaid as a wild card, but just to have someone reliable on the outside so that teams don't just keep shifting to take away Diggs.