Bills To Sign LB Trent Murphy
The Bills will sign free agent edge rusher Trent Murphy, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). It’s a three-year, $21MM deal, tweets Adam Schefter of ESPN.com, while the total value can rise to $30MM, per Rapoport (Twitter link).
Murphy, who spent the first four seasons of his career with the Redskins, drew plenty of free agent interest despite missing the entire 2017 campaign with a torn ACL and MCL. Both the Patriots and Buccaneers were reportedly in on Murphy, while Washington had offered him a contract to return to the nation’s capital.
The Bills plan to use Murphy at defensive end, not linebacker, as Joe Buscaglia of WKBW tweets. Buffalo already has two starting defensive ends in Jerry Hughes and Shaq Lawson, but Murphy will offer depth allow the Bills to play their edge rushers in a rotational capacity.
A former second-round pick, Murphy’s best season came in 2016 when he posted nine sacks. That potential was enough to get him a multi-year deal this year, but the 27-year-old certainly comes with risk attached. Not only can a dual ACL/MCL injury be tough to recover from, but Murphy was also suspended four games last season for performance-enhancing drug usage.
The Bills have been active this offseason, not only in trading away offensive starters such as Tyrod Taylor and Cordy Glenn, but in adding defensive talent such as Star Lotulelei and Rafael Bush.
Bills Trade Cordy Glenn To Bengals
The Bengals are trading for Bills left tackle Cordy Glenn, according to Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The deal will see the Bills move up in the first round, according to Peter Schrager of NFL.com (on Twitter).
The Bills will acquire the No. 12 pick in the draft, while the Bengals will go down to No. 21 overall. The two teams will also swap fifth- and sixth-round picks. Precisely, the Bills will trade picks 21 and 158 for picks 12 and 187, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports tweets.
Glenn was a durable player for the Bills prior to signing a massive extension with the Bills in 2016. Since then, he has been banged up and not quite worth the money for Buffalo. With a lofty $14.45MM cap number in 2018 and a $6.5MM roster bonus on the horizon, the Bills have decided to move on.
Glenn drew interest from teams at last year’s trade deadline, including the Seahawks, so the Bills knew there was at least some market for him, despite his health concerns and hefty contract. Glenn has three years and roughly $30MM remaining on his contract.
Glenn, 29 in September, appeared in just six games (275 snaps) for Buffalo last season before being placed on IR. He also missed five games of action in 2016. Before that, Glenn played a full 16-game slate in three consecutive seasons.
From 2013-2016, Glenn graded out as roughly a top-20 tackle, according to the advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus. He did not fare nearly as well in his limited and injury-plagued sample last season.
The Bengals, who saw longtime left tackle Andrew Whitworth defect to the Rams in free agency last March, badly needed to upgrade their offensive line. They have done just that by acquiring Glenn. If healthy, Glenn easily profiles as an above-average starter at left tackle. Given his injury history, the Bengals will want to shore up the bench in the even that he misses time.
The Bills, meanwhile, have greatly improved their standing in the draft. They also hold the No. 22 overall selection, thanks to last year’s Patrick Mahomes trade, and five of the draft’s first 65 choices. Buffalo now figures to let Dion Dawkins, who filled in for Glenn last season when he was ailing, move into the role of its full-time left tackle.
Considering their stock of early-round picks, you can only wonder if the Bills are preparing to make a run at one of the top quarterbacks in the draft. Buffalo may be emulating the strategy the Eagles took several years ago to select Carson Wentz, when Philly started with No. 13, moved up to No. 8, and ultimately traded for the second-overall pick. Of course, the Bills could also be eyeing free agent quarterbacks, as reports from earlier today indicated that they had interest in former Vikings signal-callers Sam Bradford and Case Keenum.
[RELATED: Bengals Depth Chart]
Texans To Sign OT Seantrel Henderson
The Texans are signing former Bills offensive tackle Seantrel Henderson, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Henderson is expected to provide depth at the tackle position. His deal is for one year and worth up to $4MM, a league source tells Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle (on Twitter).
Henderson has had a strange tenure in the NFL thus far. A former first-stringer in Buffalo, Henderson was hit with a ten-game substance abuse policy suspension in 2017, his second ban after previously serving a four-game suspension. For his part, Henderson says he was only using marijuana to help treat symptoms of his Crohn’s disease.
In other Texans news, Houston has agreed to sign former Jacksonville corner Aaron Colvin. They remain interested in running back Dion Lewis, though Adrian Peterson is making his case to join the team.
Bills To Sign S Rafael Bush
The Bills are signing safety Rafael Bush to a two-year deal for $3.5 MM, ESPN’s Mike Rodak tweets. Bush was among the Saints’ free agents this offseason.
It includes $900,000 guaranteed and a $600,000 signing bonus, and base salaries of $1.3 MM in 2018, and $1.4 MM in 2019. He will also receive workout bonuses of $100,000 each year. Rodak also reports there are up to $500,000 in playing time incentives, which could propel the deal to a top value of $4.5 MM.
Bush was among the best safeties in last year’s free agent class, but we did not have him ranked in the top 15 in this go ’round. That’s partially due to the depth of this year’s safety market, but more so because Bush served strictly as a backup for New Orleans last year. He appeared in 14 games — with zero starts — and totaled 22 tackles with one sack.
A fixture as a Saints depth piece for much of this decade, Bush is going into his age-31 season. The former UDFA is likely to supplement Buffalo starters Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer. Hyde is signed to a five-year, $30MM deal and Poyer to a four-season contract worth $13MM. Those two each graded as top-15 safeties in the view of Pro Football Focus.
Bush has started 18 games in his seven-year career. He played 236 snaps for the Saints last season and now looks like Buffalo’s No. 3 safety for 2018. This is now a position the Bills don’t really need to worry about for a bit.
Bills To Explore Scenarios For Trade Into Top Five
After trading Cordy Glenn to the Bengals and picking up Cincinnati’s No. 12 overall pick, the Bills are in stronger position come draft weekend. And they plan to use that to their advantage with a quarterback solution in mind.
Buffalo holds five of the top 65 picks in the draft, and Charles Robinson of Yahoo.com tweets the franchise will explore scenarios about what it will take to pick up a top-five pick. These talks are expected to heat up next week and gain steam at the Orlando owners’ meetings, which are set for March 25-28.
The Bills have seen quarterback dominoes fall Tuesday, leaving them without a starting option for 2018 and beyond. Although, the franchise traded Tyrod Taylor to the Browns on Friday and was not believed to be a serious Kirk Cousins suitor. Now, it looks like the Bills — who hold the Nos. 12 and 21 picks in Round 1 — are the team to watch for a first-round move.
The Browns, Giants, Jets and possibly the Broncos could take quarterbacks. As of now, each picks in front of the Bills. Robinson notes a trade into the top five could be meant to outflank the Jets, who are likely to be dedicated quarterback pursuers since they’ve missed out on Kirk Cousins.
The Bills’ last first-round quarterback pick, EJ Manuel, did not go well for the franchise. Now, the Brandon Beane-led regime looks ready to take a swing. A definitive hierarchy for the top prospect tier of Sam Darnold, Josh Rosen, Josh Allen and Baker Mayfield has yet to form. But the Bills are likely eyeing one of those players by planning a potential northward jump come Round 1.
Raiders, Bills Interested In Tom Johnson
The Bills and Raiders have expressed interest in Vikings free agent defensive tackle Tom Johnson, according to Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press (on Twitter). Johnson, 33, is seeking a two-year deal “for the highest salary he can get since it might be his last big contract,” Tomasson adds.
Last year, Johnson appeared in all 16 games and managed 23 pressures two sacks from the interior. He reportedly asked for a one-year, $4MM extension last season, but the Vikings refused, which could give an idea where Minnesota stands on Johnson’s value.
Heading into free agency, Johnson ranked PFR’s No. 9 free agent defensive tackle.
Bills To Bring Back Kyle Williams
Perhaps the most memorable part of the Bills’ playoff celebration involved Kyle Williams rejoicing after 11 years of regular-season-only football in Buffalo. After Williams’ 12th doubled as the Bills’ first 21st-century playoff berth, he plans to stay on board for a 13th year. 
The Bills are re-signing the defensive tackle stalwart on a one-year deal, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. It’s a $6MM agreement including $5MM fully guaranteed, Rapoport reports (on Twitter).
The five-time Pro Bowler has played in at least 15 games in five of the past six seasons, offering stability to an evolving Buffalo defense. The Bills pivoted back to a 4-3 scheme last season and relied on Williams, who gave them 16 starts. He will turn 35 in June.
He’s recorded 43.5 career sacks — fifth in team history and far and away the most by a Bills defensive tackle — and will be in position to add to that total next season.
RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/13/18
Here are today’s restricted free agent and exclusive-rights free agent tender decisions, with the list being updated throughout the day. All links go to Twitter unless otherwise noted:
RFAs
Tendered at original round level ($1.907MM):
- Cardinals: DL Xavier Williams
- Jets: S Rontez Miles (via Ralph Vacchiano of SNY)
- Saints: WR Willie Snead (story)
- Steelers: LB Anthony Chickillo (via Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
Non-tendered:
- Saints: CB Delvin Breaux (story)
ERFAs
Tendered:
- Bills: TE Nick O’Leary, DE Eddie Yarbrough, TE Logan Thomas, CB Lafayette Pitts (via Mike Rodak of ESPN.com)
- Browns: FB: Dan Vitale, C Austin Reiter (via Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal)
- Buccaneers: RB Peyton Barber (story)
- Jaguars: WR Shane Wynn (story)
- Packers: QB Joe Callahan, T Adam Pankey (reports via Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com),
- Ravens: RB Alex Collins, TE Vince Mayle, CB Stanley Jean-Baptiste (via Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com, on Twitter)
Non-tendered:
- Bears: TE Daniel Brown, LB John Timu
Bills To Sign DT Star Lotulelei To Five-Year Deal
The Bills have agreed to a five-year deal with free agent defensive tackle Star Lotulelei, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Although he’s a former first-round pick, Lotulelei’s performance has slipped in every season since he entered the league in 2013. Last year, the 28-year-old appeared in all 16 games for the second consecutive season but managed only six tackles while grading as a bottom-15 interior defender, per Pro Football Focus.
Buffalo, meanwhile, clearly needs help on the interior of its defensive line after ranking just 21st in adjusted line yards a season ago. The Bills shipped malcontent defensive tackle Marcell Dareus to the Jaguars at midseason, while veteran Kyle Williams is now a free agent.
The Panthers, Lotulelei’s former squad, are already heavily invested at the defensive tackle position. Kawann Short is the NFL’s third-highest-paid defensive tackle with a $16.1MM annual salary, while the Panthers used a first-round pick on Vernon Butler in 2016. Veteran Kyle Loveis also under contract for the 2018 campaign.
Before signing with the Bills, Lotulelei also reportedly drew interest from the Chiefs and Texans. Lotulelei ranked as PFR’s No. 4 free agent interior defender.
Bills Interested In Sam Bradford, Case Keenum
The Bills have interest in both Sam Bradford and Case Keenum, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter). Pelissero adds that the Bills see Bradford as a good scheme fit. 
The Bills are in need of a quarterback after shipping Tyrod Taylor to the Browns. The third-round pick they picked up in the deal (No. 65 overall) could help them find a new QB on the trade block, but they are intent on first exploring their options in free agency. With upwards of $32MM in cap space, the Bills theoretically have room to sign someone of Bradford or Keenum’s stature.
With Taylor off the roster, the Bills will be down to one quarterback in Nathan Peterman when the new league year opens on Wednesday. Third-string quarterback Joe Webb is set to become an unrestricted free agent. Peterman — a fifth-round pick in 2017 — made four appearances as a rookie, including two starts. The 23-year-old struggled, though, throwing five interceptions and completing 49% of his passes.
Kirk Cousins‘ landing spot could also have an effect on the Bills’ pursuit of Keenum or Bradford. The Vikings are reportedly expected to Cousins their first priority this offseason. If they were to miss out on Cousins, though, that could open up the possibility of a reunion with Keenum and Bradford, along with Teddy Bridgewater.
Keenum, 30, started 14 games last year for the Vikings, completing a career-high 67.6% of his passes while throwing 22 touchdowns to seven interceptions and leading the team to the NFC Championship Game. Bradford started the other two games for the Vikings, missing most of the season with a knee injury.
Bradford, 30, was activated in time for the postseason, though, to serve as Keenum’s backup. He was given assurance of the structure of the ligaments in his ailing knee in November by Dr. James Andrews after a procedure to shave a bone spur and clean out fluid.