The Bills and star QB Josh Allen are talking extension, but as of right now, there is no momentum towards an agreement, as Kim Jones of the NFL Network reports (Twitter link). However, Allen himself is not sweating it, calling his contract situation the “least of my worries.”
That is because Allen knows it’s a question of when, not if, he gets his mega-deal. Jones suggests that, if a new contract is not in place by the middle of August, the two sides could table negotiations until next offseason, but that scenario would hardly threaten Allen’s future in Buffalo. Because the Bills have exercised Allen’s fifth-year option, the big-armed passer is under contract through 2022, and the franchise tag is a theoretical option for 2023 if it comes to that (of course, the Cowboys’ protracted talks with Dak Prescott demonstrated the danger of that approach).
Allen has expressed a willingness to give the Bills a team-friendly structure on his second pro contract, but that doesn’t mean he will be willing to take a discount. He is in line to eclipse Prescott’s four-year, $160MM pact, which includes $126MM in guaranteed money. A deal of that magnitude certainly is a complex undertaking, though the Bills and Allen have plenty of time to continue discussing it.
As our Ben Levine detailed last month, Allen might prefer to get something done sooner rather than later. After all, it’s hard to imagine him improving on his incredible 2020 campaign, and while draftmate Lamar Jackson might drive Allen’s price a little higher if Jackson signs his extension first, it’s unlikely to make too much of an impact. And an earlier report noted that Allen is willing to operate independently of Jackson and Browns’ QB Baker Mayfield, suggesting that Allen is indeed prepared to put pen to paper before his fellow young signal-callers.
On the other hand, we don’t know the type of offer the Bills have on the table at this point — maybe they’re trying to keep the price down by pointing to Allen’s inconsistencies in 2018-19. And if they’re not willing to give up Prescott money just yet, Allen could continue to wait them out.
He should do a Mahomes type deal (10 years). Needing to restructure every 2-3 years and ‘converting’ salary to a bonus to help with cap relief!
Personally, I’m glad Buffalo is back! Those Jim Kelly teams were fun to watch.
Both sides know there’s benefits to waiting to see the future cap limits, both sides want Allen in BUF. As a Bills fam I’m not concerned.
“maybe they’re trying to keep the price down by pointing to Allen’s inconsistencies in 2018-19”.
Inconsistencies that resulted because the Bills failed to provide the proper support. Once he got the needed support, Josh gave the Bills a great return on their investment.
Yeah I don’t think they’re doing that at all. I think they are waiting on future cap numbers.
I think it would be foolish for the Bills to try to play hardball with Allen. How many elite players wake up saying “My dream is to spend all my winters in Buffalo shoveling snow after a blizzard”.
I don’t think they are playing hardball at all, based on the attitudes of McBeane/ Allen during their pressers/interviews.
Bills, get this done before the season starts or you’re going to really face the music next offseason.
There is a whole lot of “I don’t know” and “What if” in this article . Nothing but speculation.