Top Remaining Free Agents of Interest

[LabattBlue]

I wouldn’t mind Corey Davis.  Pretty sure he is an outside guy

[Einstein's Dog]

I would like a better WR than those on the FA list so that would require a trade, probably after June 1.  So while I don't mind OBJ it would be a little disappointing to me in that it would mean we probably wouldn't trade for one (kind of like I was glad we didn't pick up a second WR in the draft - same reasoning).

 

Then Hyde in a mentoring role.

  A DE would be nice. 

And I'm surprised how dried up the FA RBs became.  I thought we could use a cheap vet RB but I don't see any.

 

 

[JerseyBills]

We'll have 1 or 2 in about 4 weeks 

[Ethan in Cleveland]

Michael Thomas is the guy I would take a chance on. 

If he could ever stay healthy he was a threat.

Probably would get for vet minimum. 

Little risk, possible reward. 

[Paup 1995MVP]

1 hour ago, LabattBlue said:

I wouldn’t mind Corey Davis.  Pretty sure he is an outside guy

What has he done in the pros?

 

Seems like he has been Injured his entire career. 

[FireChans]

1 hour ago, LabattBlue said:

I wouldn’t mind Corey Davis.  Pretty sure he is an outside guy

So desperate, we are chasing after dudes who are retired 

[qwksilver]

Gallup has signed in Vegas, 1 year $3 million prove it deal.

[Taro Nimbus]

Jesus….with what money are we gonna be able to get some of these dudes???

[BillsFanForever19]

Here comes an on brand for me long winded reply lol

 

Everything on this list is 100% set or more than likely set (in my opinion) - save for one position.

 

RB:

James Cook #4
Ray Davis
Ty Johnson #26
Frank Gore Jr.
Darrynton Evans #37

 

- Likely, we only keep 3 RB's on the 53 to go along with Reggie Gilliam at FB. Cook and Davis stand firmly atop the 53, after Cook's Pro Bowl season and spending a relatively high (especially for the RB position) on Davis.

 

Ty Johnson earned the RB3 job last season and that's what we signed him for. Frank Gore Jr. signed here in my opinion as he's almost guaranteed, at least, a spot on the Practice Squad with us. Evans is our journeyman vet camp body that may also join Gore on the PS. We're set there, in my opinion. Any addition here wouldn't be a big one.

 

OL:
Dion Dawkins #73
David Edwards #76
Connor McGovern #66
O'Cyrus Torrence #64
Spencer Brown #79
-
La'el Collins #71
Sedrick Van Pran-Granger
Ryan Van Demark #74
Alec Anderson #70
Will Clapp #77
Tylan Grable
Tommy Doyle #72
Travis Clayton
Keaton Bills
Richard Gouraige #75
Kevin Jarvis #63
Gunner Britton
Mike Edwards

 

- We're 1000% set on OL. We currently have *18* players on the roster and will probably only keep half of them. As it is, we're going to be cutting some veterans of the team, FA signings from this offseason, and/or late round Draft Picks.

 

Dawkins, Brown, and Van Demark will be 3 of our 4 tackles. Leaving only one spot open for either Collins, Grable, Doyle, or Gouraige. 

 

McGovern, Torrence, Edwards, Van Pran-Granger, and Anderson seem obvious as 5 Interior locks or pretty close to locks. And we're likely to only keep 5.

 

CB:
Rasul Douglas #31
Christian Benford #47
Taron Johnson #7
Kaiir Elam #5
Daequan Hardy
Ja'Marcus Ingram #46
Kyron Brown #32
Keni-H Lovely
Travis Blackshear

 

- I think it's *possible* we add another CB. But I think it's likely, if not more than likely, they feel we're set there. At times, we've kept 6, but we kept 5 last season.

 

Douglas and Benford are our starters on the Boundary, with Elam coming off the bench in case of an injury. Taron Johnson will start at Nickel, with Hardy backing him up.

 

Cam Lewis was handed a decent sized pay increase on a new deal, mainly for his versatility. I think he'll be listed as a Safety. But if there are two injuries at Perimeter or Nickel, I think they'd turn to him. They also like Ingram, who has been in the system for years now. He lives on the PS, but has shown promise when called on in a pinch. 

 

S:
Cole Bishop #24
Mike Edwards #21
Taylor Rapp #20
Cam Lewis #33
Damar Hamlin #3
Kendall Williamson #36

 

- Generally, we keep 4 here. Though I think it will be technically 5 this season - with the aforementioned Cam Lewis as depth at both CB and Safety in the event of either position having multiple injuries. 

 

In Bishop, who we spent a big premium Draft Pick for the position on and is the future and possibly even the present of the position, Edwards, and Rapp - we have 3 talent capable players at the top of the chart for 2 positions.

 

If one goes down, the odd man out would come in. If two went down, Lewis would come in. Maybe they replace Hamlin as the 5th Safety, but you're not getting or paying for a substantial player there for such a minimal role and likely to get a similar player in value to Hamlin. So i'd imagine they'd just keep him there and see if he can get better after a transition year last year.

 

DE: 
Von Miller #40
Greg Rousseau #50
AJ Epenesa #57
Casey Toohill #95
Javon Solomon
Kingsley Jonathan #59
Kameron Cline #96
David Ugwoebgu

 

- I hear DE brought up more than any other position but WR. But like CB, I think it's more likely they think they're set there after re-signing Epenesa to a bigger contract, stealing the sack leader in the FBS in Solomon where we took him, signing Toohill (not a sexy name, but a productive reserve), and retaining Jonathan.

 

Generally, we only keep 4 to 5 there. We kept 6 last year, but that was an anomaly because of Miller's injury and the guys we had under contract. This year, I see us keeping 5. I know everyone's worried about Miller. But I expect a better Miller this season and I believe they do too. 

 

Will he be what he was before the ACL? That I don't know. But we're going to get a better version than we got last season. This is his last season here. Everyone is writing him off and his career is over if he doesn't get better. That's a *lot* of motivation for one of the greatest of all time. He's surely working his tail off right now and will be afforded an actual offseason and Training Camp to get up to speed, over a year removed from injury. 

 

In the event he doesn't fully return to form, that's why we paid what we did to get Epenesa back. Either Miller returns to form and starts, with Epenesa being 3rd in rotation or Miller can't start, Epenesa does, and Miller is a reserve. I don't see them viewing anyone but Groot, Miller, and Epenesa as their top 3 guys.

 

Beyond that, Javon Solomon will surely have a spot on the 53. We don't outright cut 5th Rounders (and he shouldn't have lasted that long) and given his production in College, he has HUGE upside and is not a player I envision them thinking they can sneak on their PS.

 

That leaves one roster spot for Toohill or Jonathan. Given when we signed Toohill, his production as a reserve, and the role he would have here - I feel they think Toohill is the perfect guy for 4th or 5th DE on the roster. Small chance Jonathan beats him out. But I think they view him a Brandin Bryant type. A guy that lives on our PS and gets called up after 1 injury. If someone else signs him, good for him. But he seems to always find his way back here.

 

DT:
Ed Oliver #91
Daquan Jones #92
DeWayne Carter
Austin Johnson #98
DeShawn Williams #99
Eli Ankou #51
Branson Deen
Rondell Bothroyd

 

- This will be much quicker than DE. We're completely set here. We'll keep 5 DT's. In Oliver, Jones, Carter, and Johnson we have our starters and immediate backups at 3T and 1T SOLIDLY covered. DeShawn Williams will stick as our 5th. Done.

 

That leads us to the one spot where I see it being almost a sure thing we'll add to, possibly with someone from your list....

 

WR:
Keon Coleman #0
Curtis Samuel #1
Khalil Shakir #10
Mack Hollins #13
Justin Shorter #18 
Quintez Cephus #81
Andy Isabella #87
K.J. Hamler #19
Tyrell Shavers #80
Bryan Thompson #89
Xavier Johnson Jr.
Lawrence Keys

 

- We went into this Draft with everything covered except for replacements to Diggs and Davis at the Starting Outside spots. Samuel replaces Harty, Hollins replaces Sherfield - with Shakir returning as one (of our many) main Slot's.

 

In Coleman, they got their guy for one of those spots. But with the only other spot to replace on the 53 being the other starter and with what was left at 60 and beyond for Outside WR's (combined with them likely not wanting to start two Rookies), they didn't take another.

 

I know everyone's panicking after what Beane said. But he goes back on his word constantly. He said similar things last season about our DE room.... then he signed Leonard Floyd in June. 

 

While I do tend to believe that he doesn't want to spend premium Draft Picks for the privilege to sign a Tee Higgins or Brandon Aiyuk to a MONSTER long term contract - I see it as close to a 0% chance that we don't use some of Tre's money to sign one of the top remaining Outside WR's or trade for one that is on a manageable short term contract.

 

Beane himself said that Coleman will be eased in and "will have a hard time starting at the beginning of the season". If that's the case, then what? Samuel is a great weapon, but he's a mainly Inside guy that takes minimal outside reps. He's not and has never been someone who plays on the Outside predominantly. Beane's words have confirmed that, calling him a "weapon" and not a Starting Outside guy. 

 

So we'd be Starting Hollins on the Outside (yick) and... who? Shorter? No way. We're currently in a spot that where our only True Outside WR's are Coleman, Hollins, Shorter, and a myriad of Practice Squad or out of the league guys. I don't care what he's saying now, I would be absolutely floored if we didn't add on the Outside.

 

Tyler Boyd and Hunter Renfrow are Pure Slots. And with Shakir, Samuel, and Kincaid either playing exclusively or in the VAST majority in the Slot - we're absolutely set there. So it won't be one of them. But one of Gallup, OBJ, Chark, MVS, and Thomas are 1000% in play. Who knows who else could surprisingly become available via surprise cut or surprise trade. But don't panic in April. I expect the Leonard Floyd to the DE room from last season to come to the WR room before Week 1.

 

That would give us Coleman, (FA/Trade Outside Addition), and Hollins on the Outside. Shakir and Samuel in the Slot/Z Flex. Leaving us one (maybe 2 if we feel like keeping 7 as we've done a couple times in the past) roster spot(s) that will come down to a battle between Shorter, Cephus, Hamler, Isabella, and the rest of the UDFA/PS pack - with Shorter having the edge if all things are equal, being a 5th Round investment.

Edited April 30 by BillsFanForever19

[SoonerBillsFan]

7 minutes ago, BillsFanForever19 said:

Here comes an on brand for me long winded reply lol

 

Everything on this list is 100% set or more than likely set (in my opinion) - save for one position.

 

RB:

James Cook #4
Ray Davis
Ty Johnson #26
Frank Gore Jr.
Darrynton Evans #37

 

- Likely, we only keep 3 RB's on the 53 to go along with Reggie Gilliam at FB. Cook and Davis stand firmly atop the 53, after Cook's Pro Bowl season and spending a relatively high (especially for the RB position) on Davis.

 

Ty Johnson earned the RB3 job last season and that's what we signed him for. Frank Gore Jr. signed here in my opinion as he's almost guaranteed, at least, a spot on the Practice Squad here. Evans is our journeyman vet camp body that may also join Gore on the PS. We're set there, in my opinion. Any addition here wouldn't be a big one.

 

OL:
Dion Dawkins #73
David Edwards #76
Connor McGovern #66
O'Cyrus Torrence #64
Spencer Brown #79
-
La'el Collins #71
Sedrick Van Pran-Granger
Ryan Van Demark #74
Alec Anderson #70
Will Clapp #77
Tylan Grable
Tommy Doyle #72
Travis Clayton
Keaton Bills
Richard Gouraige #75
Kevin Jarvis #63
Gunner Britton
Mike Edwards

 

- We're 1000% set on OL. We currently have *18* players on the roster and will probably only keep half of them. As it is, we're going to be cutting some veterans of the team, FA signings from this offseason, and/or late round Draft Picks.

 

Dawkins, Brown, and Van Demark will be 3 of our 4 tackles. Leaving only one spot open for either Collins, Grable, Doyle, or Gouraige. 

 

McGovern, Torrence, Edwards, Van Pran-Granger, and Anderson seem obvious as 5 Interior locks or pretty close to locks. And we're likely to only keep 5.

 

CB:
Rasul Douglas #31
Christian Benford #47
Taron Johnson #7
Kaiir Elam #5
Daequan Hardy
Ja'Marcus Ingram #46
Kyron Brown #32
Keni-H Lovely
Travis Blackshear

 

- I think it's *possible* we add another CB. But I think it's likely, if not more than likely, they feel we're set there. At times, we've kept 6, but we kept 5 last season.

 

Douglas and Benford are our starters on the Boundary, with Elam coming off the bench in case of an injury. Taron Johnson will start at Nickel, with Hardy backing him up.

 

Cam Lewis was handed a decent sized pay increase on a new deal, mainly for his versatility. I think he'll be listed as a Safety. But if there are two injuries at Perimeter or Nickel, I think they'd turn to him. They also like Ingram, who has been in the system for years now. He lives on the PS, but has shown promise when called on in a pinch. 

 

S:
Cole Bishop #24
Mike Edwards #21
Taylor Rapp #20
Cam Lewis #33
Damar Hamlin #3
Kendall Williamson #36

 

- Generally, we keep 4 here. Though I think it will be technically 5 this season - with the aforementioned Cam Lewis as depth at both CB and Safety in the event of either position having multiple injuries. 

 

In Bishop, who we spent a big premium Draft Pick for the position on and is the future and possibly even the present of the position, Edwards, and Rapp - we have 3 talent capable players at the top of the chart for 2 positions.

 

If one goes down, the odd man out would come in. If two went down, Lewis would come in. Maybe they replace Hamlin as the 5th Safety, but you're not getting or paying for a substantial player there for such a minimal role and likely to get a similar player in value to Hamlin. So i'd imagine they'd just keep him there and see if he can get better after a transition year last year.

 

DE: 
Von Miller #40
Greg Rousseau #50
AJ Epenesa #57
Casey Toohill #95
Javon Solomon
Kingsley Jonathan #59
Kameron Cline #96
David Ugwoebgu

 

- I hear DE brought up more than any other position but WR but like CB, I think it's more likely they think they're set there after re-signing Epenesa to a bigger contract, stealing the sack leader in the FBS in Solomon where we took him, signing Toohill (not a sexy name, but a productive reserve), and retaining Jonathan.

 

Generally, we only keep 4 to 5 there. We kept 6 last year, but that was an anomaly because of Miller's injury and the guys we had under contract. This year, I see us keeping 5. I know everyone's worried about Miller. But I expect a better Miller this season and I believe they do too. 

 

Will he be what he was before the ACL? That I don't know. But we're going to get a better version than we got last season. This is his last season here. Everyone is writing him off and his career is over if he doesn't get better. That's a *lot* of motivation for one of the greatest of all time. He's surely working his tail off right now and will be afforded an actual offseason and Training Camp to get up to speed, over a year removed from injury. 

 

In the event he doesn't fully return to form, that's why we paid what we did to get Epenesa back. Either Miller returns to form and starts, with Epenesa being 3rd in rotation or Miller can't start, Epenesa does, and Miller is a reserve. I don't see them viewing anyone but Groot, Miller, and Epenesa as their top 3 guys.

 

Beyond that, Javon Solomon will surely have a spot on the 53. We don't outright cut 5th Rounders (and he shouldn't have lasted that long) and given his production in College, he has HUGE upside and is not a player I envision them thinking they can sneak on their PS.

 

That leaves one roster spot for Toohill or Jonathan. Given when we signed Toohill, his production as a reserve, and the role he would have here - I feel they think Toohill is the perfect guy for 4th or 5th DE on the roster. Small chance Jonathan beats him out. But I think they view him a Brandin Bryant type. A guy that lives on our PS and gets called up after 1 injury. If someone else signs him, good for him. But he seems to always find his way back here.

 

DT:
Ed Oliver #91
Daquan Jones #92
DeWayne Carter
Austin Johnson #98
DeShawn Williams #99
Eli Ankou #51
Branson Deen
Rondell Bothroyd

 

- This will be much quicker than DE. We're completely set here. We'll keep 5 DT's. In Oliver, Jones, Carter, and Johnson we have our starters and immediate backups at 3T and 1T SOLIDLY covered. DeShawn Williams will stick as our 5th. Done.

 

That leaves us to the one spot where I see it being almost a sure thing we'll add to with someone from your list....

 

WR:
Keon Coleman #0
Curtis Samuel #1
Khalil Shakir #10
Mack Hollins #13
Justin Shorter #18 
Quintez Cephus #81
Andy Isabella #87
K.J. Hamler #19
Tyrell Shavers #80
Bryan Thompson #89
Xavier Johnson Jr.
Lawrence Keys

 

- We went into this Draft with everything covered except for replacements to Diggs and Davis at the Starting Outside spots. Samuel replaces Harty, Hollins replaces Sherfield - with Shakir returning as one (of our many) main Slot's.

 

In Coleman, they got their guy for one of those spots. But with the only other spot to replace on the 53 being the other starter and with what was left at 60 and beyond for Outside WR's (combined with them likely not wanting to start two Rookies), they didn't take another.

 

I know everyone's panicking after what Beane said. But he goes back on his word constantly. He said similar things last season about our DE room.... then he signed Leonard Floyd in June. 

 

While I do tend to believe that he doesn't want to spend premium Draft Picks for the privilege to sign a Tee Higgins or Brandon Aiyuk to a MONSTER long term contract - I see it as close to a 0% chance that we don't use some of Tre's money to sign one of the top remaining Outside WR's or trade for one that is on a manageable short term contract.

 

Beane himself said that Coleman will be eased in and "will have a hard time starting at the beginning of the season". If that's the case, then what? Samuel is a great weapon, but he's a mainly Inside guy that takes minimal outside reps. He's not and has never been someone who plays on the Outside predominantly. Beane's words have confirmed that, calling him a "weapon" and not a Starting Outside guy. 

 

So we'd be Starting Hollins on the Outside (yick) and... who? Shorter? No way. We're currently in a spot that where our only True Outside WR's are Coleman, Hollins, Shorter, and a myriad of Practice Squad or out of the league guys. I don't care what he's saying now, I would be absolutely floored if we didn't add on the Outside.

 

Tyler Boyd and Hunter Renfrow are Pure Slots. And with Shakir, Samuel, and Kincaid either playing exclusively or in the VAST majority in the Slot - we're absolutely set there. So it won't be one of them. But one of Gallup, OBJ, Chark, MVS, and Thomas are 1000% in play. Who knows who else could surprisingly become available via surprise cut or surprise trade. But don't panic in April. I expect the Leonard Floyd to the DE room from last season to come to the WR room before Week 1.

 

That would give us Coleman, (FA/Trade Outside Addition), and Hollins on the Outside. Shakir and Samuel in the Slot/Z Flex. Leaving us one (maybe 2 if we feel like keeping 7 as we've done a couple times in the past) roster spot(s) that will come down to a battle between Shorter, Cephus, Hamler, Isabella, and the rest of the UDFA/PS pack - with Shorter having the edge if all things are equal, being a 5th Round investment.

Great post, thank you for this detail.  We are in better shape than most think.

[MrEpsYtown]

Not that it’s that important, but Gallup signed with the Raiders for up to 3 million. It’s interesting to see the going rate for a guy of his caliber. 
 

 

[Chaos]

What do people think the regimes goal is for 2024? Bills are rebuilding. They are going to play as many young players as starters and first off the bench as possible in order to determine who if any can contribute in 2025. 

[BillsFanForever19]

18 minutes ago, Taro Nimbus said:

Jesus….with what money are we gonna be able to get some of these dudes???

 

You are aware that we get 10.2m on 6/1 from releasing Tre White and also saved some on the cap from trading out of Round 1, right?

 

Come 6/1 we will have some money to spend and there will be guys available.

 

6 minutes ago, MrEpsYtown said:

Not that it’s that important, but Gallup signed with the Raiders for up to 3 million. It’s interesting to see the going rate for a guy of his caliber. 
 

 

 

Damn. He is one of the top options available. Cross him off the list then.

[Tipster19]

3 hours ago, TheWeatherMan said:

I would assume Simmons is off the list with our 2nd round pick.  A veteran CB like Howard or Peterson would be nice as would Lawson or Ngakoue as a situational rusher. 

I’ve always been interested in Ngakoue when he was available but being available so many times now is making me second guess of that. It would be great if Ngakoue, or somebody else, could help fill Leonard Floyd’s shoes.

[Jerboski]

Lawson and Boyd please 

[Cash]

In order of my preference:

1. Odell Beckham Jr - His last 2 stops have been highly successful (except for the injuries) as a mercenary receiver.  Dude will be an injury risk for the rest of his career I think, but he can still play.  And it's hard to go wrong with a guy who likely would've won a Super Bowl MVP if he didn't get hurt.  I would have no problem with him mentoring Coleman, also.  This is the only guy worth spending the Tre White money on, IMO.
2. DJ Chark - I liked him a lot coming into the draft, and he did have some early production in Jacksonville.  Size/speed guy who hasn't fully put it together, but also hasn't played with a QB nearly as good as Allen.
3. Michael Thomas - His injury history makes Beckham look like Cal Ripken Jr.  I don't think he'll ever play a full season again.  But he's a guy who has been ELITE, and he showed some real flashes of his old self at times last season.  He also disappeared a lot last season, but I'm not sure how much of that was because his relationship with the Saints was completely broken a couple years ago.  On a 1 year deal, could he be both healthy and fully bought in?

 

Gallup was the only other guy that interested me, and according to this thread he's off the market.  1 year, $3 million is about what I'd offer Chark or Thomas.  Beckham will ask for (and get) significantly more than that.

 

No matter what, I'll be super interested to see how the Bills spend the June 1st money.  I'll be shocked if they don't sign someone with a decent chunk of it.  But they could split it on maybe 2 Gallup-level signings, or put it all towards a bigger Beckham or Leonard Floyd-style signing, maybe with the help of void years.  I think who they DON'T sign will be just as telling as who they do.

[Goin Breakdown]

I would be surprised if Buffalo grabbed another receiver. I'm only going based on what Beane has been saying about liking the WR room as it is. I think the fact that he didn't grab 2 guys in what was supposed to be a historically deep WR class tells me all I need to know about how he values that need. 

[LabattBlue]

58 minutes ago, FireChans said:

So desperate, we are chasing after dudes who are retired 

He is?   😱

[MJS]

Yannick Ngakoue or Bud Dupree would be nice. Similar to the Floyd signing last offseason.

 

Of the receivers, only Tyler Boyd or Corey Davis move the needle much for me. Some are saying Boyd is only a slot, but I could see him and Shakir rotate outside and inside. They both have the capability of playing both. Boyd is 6'2". He can play outside.

 

I don't think we need to sign veterans at the other positions you mentioned.

 

Edited April 30 by MJS

[FireChans]

5 minutes ago, LabattBlue said:

He is?   😱

 

2 minutes ago, MJS said:

Yannick Ngakoue or Bud Dupree would be nice. Similar to the Floyd signing last offseason.

 

Of the receivers, only Tyler Boyd or Corey Davis move the needle much for me.

 

I don't think we need to sign veterans at the other positions you mentioned.

 

guys

 

https://www.newyorkjets.com/news/jets-wr-corey-davis-retirement-nfl