Re-signing veteran interior offensive lineman Connor McGovern was a huge priority for the Bills this offseason, and according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the two parties reached an agreement on a new four-year, $52MM contract to avoid free agency. A report from Ian Rapoport that the team was closing in on this four-year pact preempted the final news, but Schefter broke the deal with details, including a guaranteed amount on the new contract of $32MM. 
McGovern came into the NFL as a third-round pick for the Cowboys in 2019. After sitting out his entire rookie season with a torn pectoral muscle, he served as a backup behind an impressive Dallas Duo in Zack Martin and Connor Williams. McGovern found eight starts in his first season of play, filling in a couple times when Martin filled in at tackle and getting the rest as Martin sat with a concussion or a calf injury. In Year 3, he returned to a backup role but stole a few starts as Williams was benched due to a tendency to commit too many penalties. He earned the starting left guard job in the last year of his rookie contract and, in addition to allowing just two sacks and committing one penalty he continued to show his versatility with some spot starts replacing center Tyler Biadasz.
Off of a strong final year in Dallas, McGovern landed in Buffalo on a three-year, $22.35MM deal as the Bills looked to replace veteran left guard Rodger Saffold. Starting all 17 games, McGovern was part of an offensive unit that allowed the fewest sacks in the NFL in 2023, but personally, McGovern left plenty of room for improvement in the run game. Part of the Bills’ solution for this was a position change.
Buffalo pursued some cost-cutting moves in 2024 and opted to release veteran center Mitch Morse, shifting McGovern inside to fill the newly vacant role. Starting 16 games at this new position, McGovern looked much more balanced with his pass-pro and run-grading duties. Per Pro Football Focus (subscription required), he graded out as the 10th-best center in the NFL as he earned Pro Bowl honors for the first time in his career. In his second year as a full-time center, McGovern continued to improve, grading out as PFF’s ninth-best center in 2025.
After McGovern’s Pro Bowl campaign, the team began extension discussions with him and fellow interior lineman David Edwards. As those discussions continued, it became clear to that it may end up being one or the other between McGovern and Edwards. McGovern didn’t seem confident that it was going to be him sticking around. Just a few days ago, he told The Athletic’s Tim Graham that the team hadn’t contacted him once and that the feeling in his gut was that his time with the Bills was “over and done.” In the end, though, McGovern got the deal, and the consensus remains convinced that Edwards will be bound for free agency, likely to land a bit more money than his presumed former linemate.
In what looks to be a decent crop of free agent centers this offseason, McGovern was largely seen as the No. 2 option. Ravens center Tyler Linderbaum has not reached a new deal with the team that drafted him 25th overall in 2022, despite Baltimore’s best attempts. Linderbaum is expected to set a new market at the position with some reports claiming an aim of $25MM per year, a jump of $7MM from the reigning highest-paid center Creed Humphrey‘s $18MM annual average value. Seeing where the market could’ve ended up, the Bills were smart to lock McGovern in at the time and rate that they did.
With McGovern off the market, all eyes will be on Linderbaum now. There’s a bit of a dropoff in quality after Linderbaum as Panthers center Cade Mays, Browns center Ethan Pocic, and Broncos center Lloyd Cushenberry round out the pack. The Ravens had kept an eye on McGovern in case they couldn’t hold on to Linderbaum, but McGovern cashes in here with Buffalo as the NFL’s third-highest paid center, and the Bills secure a key piece of the interior of an offensive line that has helped Buffalo see the 2024 MVP and the 2025 leader in rushing yards.
Hmmm… I love the player, but the team has to learn that they can’t re-sign everyone. This is why we’re always trapped in salary cap hell and can never land a prime time WR or edge rusher. Max crosby or McGovern and Bernard… seems like an easy choice. What’s the point of drafting guys at all if they never supplant the starter? They spent real draft capital on van pran granger. Why? He’s never played. They do this at so many different positions.
For one thing, McGovern costs less than half what Crosby does and they don’t have to trade draft picks to get him. They spent a 5th round pick on Van Pran-Granger, so it’s no big deal if he’s just depth, but also he could conceivably slot in next to McGovern assuming they let Edwards walk.
so center is the bottlenecked position this year. multiple teams will lose out on the musical chairs. it seems that teams are operating under the belief that there are not 32 starting-quality centers
Seems reasonable. There’s also something to be said for the devil you know, too. If you’re the Bills, you know McGovern’s personality and medicals better than you’ll know about an Ethan Pocic or anyone in the draft. Wonder if we see guys like Jake Slaughter go higher in the draft.