Last season further entrenched the Bills in an impressive but unfortunate contingent in NFL history. In booking a seventh playoff berth in eight seasons (six of those with Josh Allen at the helm), this Buffalo nucleus is firmly among the best — along with the Air Coryell Chargers, Marty Schottenheimer‘s Browns and Chiefs squads, and probably the Ravens’ Lamar Jackson-era crew (among others) — to not reach a Super Bowl. After 2024 brought a retooling offseason that lowered expectations, last year’s run to the Super Bowl LIX precipice restored them for 2025.
As the Bills continue their agonizing trend of controlling the regular-season Chiefs rivalry before losing each playoff rematch, they went to work augmenting key areas. But ensuring a batch of early-2020s draft choices remained in Buffalo long term defined this offseason. One extension towered among the others in value and importance, but a host of reasonably priced paydays set up this Bills core for the decade’s remainder.
Extensions and restructures:
The Allen contract came without rumored talks. That theme persisted, with one notable exception, as the Bills planned their paydays. Allen entered the offseason tied to what had become a wildly team-friendly deal, as the QB market exploded beyond the $50MM-per-year rate and as Allen had established himself as a megastar. The Bills did not technically need to do anything after the seven-year veteran’s MVP season; his six-year extension (agreed to in August 2021) ran through the 2028 slate. But as the market had moved the Buffalo icon out of the top 10 among QBs, the team acted.
Allen’s new contract is more of a lucrative rework than a true extension. Only two new years are included; the QB is now tied to the Bills through the 2030 season. But the Bills rewarded their franchise cornerstone with a massive guarantee influx. Allen, 28, received what amounts to a $90MM raise on his previous deal. The fully guaranteed money represented the lead item here. Allen’s $147MM figure is well south of Deshaun Watson‘s $230MM, but this contract beats every other deal in terms of fully guaranteed money. Although Allen could not catch Dak Prescott‘s massive $60MM-AAV accord — one achieved with far more leverage than the Bills QB carried — he topped the Cowboys passer in upfront guarantees.
Some 14 months after Patrick Mahomes‘ outlier 10-year extension, Allen became the only quarterback to agree to a deal beyond five years. This helped the Bills, who have gone to the restructure well like the Chiefs have. Buffalo needed to make an adjustment, as Kansas City did with its megastar talent in September 2022, but the team still has Allen signed for six more seasons. That will help establish cost certainty — for a while, at least — at Allen’s apex.
Having Allen at the same AAV of Trevor Lawrence and Jordan Love — even after a $24MM offseason cap surge — should age quite well. Mahomes’ historic Chiefs impact notwithstanding, the three-time Super Bowl champion has Andy Reid calling the shots and the perennially underrated Steve Spagnuolo providing defensive fortification. Travis Kelce, for most of Mahomes’ career at least, being a dominant tight end helped raise the QB’s floor as well. Allen has lacked these amenities, for the most part, and an argument can be made — as it was last year — he is the NFL’s most indispensable player.
The Bills have continued to receive full participation from their dual-threat dynamo, despite regular punishment on scrambles and designed runs. Allen has logged 759 regular-season carries and 112 more in the playoffs, signing up for hits Jackson deftly avoids in the process. Obviously important as a passer, Allen’s run-game prowess separates him as an all-time talent. Allen already ranks sixth in career QB carries; he will move into fourth early this season. While the Bills may need to rein in their do-it-all player on that front at some point to ensure he remains elite through the duration of this contract, the franchise is enjoying the spoils of its two-trade-up 2018 presently.
Dion Dawkins‘ NFL arrival predates Allen’s, but the Bills went to work on fortifying their younger core this year. That meant deals for starters drafted in 2021 and ’22. Shakir’s extension began this mission in February, and the blueprint (barring a late-summer accord perhaps with an interior O-lineman) ended with Cook’s hold-in leading to an agreement last week.
After five smooth negotiations, the Bills reached choppy waters during Cook’s. The 2024 Pro Bowler threw a $15MM-per-year price point out there, and initial talks in the spring did not progress. Brandon Beane then pointed to the two-year running back starter needing to begin his contract year unsigned. Fortunately for all parties, that did not end up happening. Cook skipped OTAs but reported for minicamp. This off-and-on work schedule persisted into training camp, when the former second-round pick participated initially before shifting to a hold-in strategy before returning to practice. A day after Cook suited up, a deal unsurprisingly emerged.
The 2024 running back resurgence did bring a market reset, thanks to Saquon Barkley‘s otherworldly season, and Derrick Henry receiving $25MM guaranteed at signing despite being 31. Beyond those Hall of Fame-caliber talents, no true shift occurred. Last fall established a second tier at the position, with James Conner, Chuba Hubbard and David Montgomery following Rhamondre Stevenson in landing extensions between $8.3MM and $9.5MM per year. Alvin Kamara‘s third Saints contract came in at $12.25MM AAV. This offseason brought two notable deals in between those goalposts.
Days after the Rams gave Kyren Williams a three-year, $33MM extension, the Bills found common ground with Cook. Although both players received full guarantees totaling just more than $15MM, each deal features vesting dates in early 2026. The Bills guaranteed $5MM of Cook’s 2026 compensation at signing; another $4.41MM locks in February 9. Cook also secured a rolling guarantee structure, which will pay out $6.22MM of his $9.13MM 2027 base salary on Day 5 of the 2026 league year. Although Cook’s $15.28MM full guarantee is just 10th at the position, more than $10MM in additional guarantees are due by mid-March.
Cook offered a second straight 1,000-yard rushing season last year and led the NFL with 16 rushing TDs. Cook received the first notable RB extension during the Beane-Sean McDermott era. The Bills had removed LeSean McCoy‘s Doug Whaley-era contract from the payroll and made Devin Singletary and Zack Moss one-contract players. Cook, 26 in September, did not do as well on his second contract as older brother Dalvin. But most teams have been stingier on RB paydays since the 2017 class cashed in years ago.
Cook and Shakir have been Allen’s steadiest weapons since Joe Brady replaced Ken Dorsey as OC midway through the 2023 season. While Stefon Diggs disappointed to close that campaign, Shakir emerged as a reliable target and developed further in 2024. The slot cog led a more egalitarian Bills pass-catching corps with 821 receiving yards. Seventy-six catches and four touchdowns to go with that yardage total did not provide Diggs-level numbers, but Shakir was not asked for such contributions. The extension reflects such a role.
Shakir’s $13.25MM AAV number sits 27th among receivers. It is difficult to extend core performers this far outside the upper crust at their respective positions, but Shakir is a former fifth-round pick who played sparingly as a rookie. Considering how valuable he is in Buffalo’s post-Diggs setup, this seems like a team-friendly deal. Shakir, 25, opted to pass on testing free agency — or at least waiting to see how the market changed by training camp — to lock in money early. The Bills made a few similar moves in the weeks that followed.
Like Bobby Okereke years prior, Bernard entered the NFL perhaps better known for an enthusiastic (via Kyle Brandt) third-round draft announcement than on-field play. Last season changed that, as Bernard established himself as Buffalo’s new linebacker pillar. Bernard, 26, has played at least 87% of the Bills’ defensive snaps over the past two seasons. With Milano missing most of that stretch, the Baylor product became a vital player on a defense known to run into ill-timed injury trouble. Although Pro Football Focus rated Bernard as a bottom-five full-time LB last season, the Bills disagreed and rewarded the productive Day 2 draftee.
Of the Shakir-Bernard-Rousseau-Benford quartet, Bernard did the best in terms of AAV at his position. His $10.5MM number still ranks only 12th among off-ball ‘backers, marking what looks like another solid compromise from the Bills. This deal reminds of Milano’s second contract (in 2021), but with the cap spiking by nearly $100MM since that offseason, Bernard’s is a much team-friendlier agreement. The Bills also did not guarantee any money beyond 2026, giving them an easy out — in the event this bet on an ascending player fails — by 2027.
The Bills did not receive what they hoped from Von Miller, leading Rousseau to go from an initial sidekick piece alongside the future Hall of Famer to the team’s lead pass rusher. Rousseau, 25, has not yet posted a nine-sack season; he reached eight in 2022 and ’24. But he has boosted his career-high in QB hits in each of the past three seasons, going from 14 to 18 to 24. Rousseau’s 35 pressures also ranked 11th last season, when he added career-high marks in TFLs (16) and forced fumbles (three). Barring injury, it is likely Rousseau’s best work is ahead of him.
The Bills did not exactly get in early here, as Rousseau had played four seasons on his rookie deal, but the 2021 first-rounder’s resume helped them close these negotiations with the No. 13 edge rusher AAV ($20MM). Continuing to equip Rousseau with veteran bookends (Miller, Leonard Floyd, Joey Bosa), the Bills have made the Miami alum their lead D-end with this extension. Rousseau would have been a franchise tag candidate in 2026 had he not signed early, but the Bills took care of this months before training camp. Rousseau’s AAV matches Miller’s 2022 number, but he is nearly eight years younger at the time of signing (at a lower percentage of the cap), pointing to better returns.
Identifying Cook, Shakir, Bernard and Rousseau as core players to extend, the Bills included Benford in that group after he had taken the longest road to such status. Chosen in the same 2022 draft as first-rounder Kaiir Elam, Benford quickly showed he was the better player. Also coming from Division I-FCS (Villanova), Benford entered his rookie season with minimal fanfare. But Benford earned a starting gig early, giving Tre’Davious White more time to rehab his first major injury. When the Bills acquired Rasul Douglas at the 2023 deadline, it was to give them an answer opposite Benford, not Elam.
PFF has ranked Benford as a top-10 corner in each of the past two seasons. The 6-foot-1 CB submitted his best work in terms of completion percentage (63.5) and yards per target (5.4) as the closest defender last season. Given the Chiefs’ narrow victory margins in both their past two playoff wins in this series, it can certainly be argued the series’ playoff record would be different had Benford finished either game. Benford missed the Bills’ 2023 divisional-round Chiefs loss and left with a concussion early in last season’s AFC championship game.
Despite his ill-timed absences, Benford secured what is now an upper-middle-class CB extension. Buffalo’s Benford deal came after both Jaycee Horn and Derek Stingley Jr. raised the market’s ceiling, but the team still has its top cover man tied to the 19th-most lucrative CB contract. Benford, 25 in September, likely would have done better by waiting until free agency (or a franchise tag). But the Bills, continuing their offseason theme, convinced him to re-up early.
Part of McDermott’s first draft (one that took place shortly before Beane’s GM hire), Milano delivered strong work on his rookie deal and second contract. Since Buffalo redid the All-Pro’s contract in 2023, injuries have thrown his career off course. Milano, 31, missed 12 games due to injury in each of the past two seasons. That has limited Buffalo’s defense, and keyed a reduction.
Rather than taking his chances on the market coming off these injury-marred years ahead of his age-31 season, Milano will attempt to rebound with the team that drafted him. As Bernard, Benford, Cook, Rousseau and Shakir became the offseason focus around Allen, one of the initial McDermott-era investments is now paid as a moderately priced starting linebacker.
Free agency additions:
- Josh Palmer, WR. Three years, $30MM ($15MM guaranteed)
- Michael Hoecht, DE. Three years, $21MM ($12.43MM guaranteed)
- Joey Bosa, DE. One year, $12.61MM ($12MM guaranteed)
- Larry Ogunjobi, DT. One year, $6.7MM ($5.43MM guaranteed)
- Elijah Moore, WR. One year, $2.5MM ($2.5MM guaranteed)
- Tre’Davious White, CB. One year, $3MM ($2.2MM guaranteed)
- Dane Jackson, CB. One year, $ 1.34MM ($568K guaranteed)
- Darrick Forrest, S. One year, $1.34MM ($168K guaranteed)
- Darrynton Evans, RB. One year, $1.21MM ($15K guaranteed)
- Laviska Shenault, WR. One year, $1.21MM ($15K guaranteed)
- Shaq Thompson, LB. One year, $1.26MM
- Kendrick Green, OL. One year, $1.2MM
- Tre Herndon, DB. One year, $1.17MM
- Deon Cain, WR. One year, $960K
- Brad Robbins, P. One year, $960K
- Dan Feeney, G. Signed 8/4
More undercard (to the extension cycle’s main event) in this Bills offseason, free agency still brought some important additions. The three most significant came from Los Angeles.
As they did with Von Miller in 2022, the Bills swooped in as a stealth contender to win an edge rusher sweepstakes. Joey Bosa was listed as close to reuniting with younger brother Nick in San Francisco, while the Miami native was also on the Dolphins’ radar. No Bills connections emerged until an agreement became known.
Bosa, 30, treks east as an injury-prone but productive pass rusher. The Bills will need to account for the health issues associated with this marquee free agent — a player the Chargers dropped after giving him a 2024 pay cut — and a calf issue already kept Bosa out for a stretch this offseason. When available, however, Bosa will be an upgrade.
It would seem Bosa will need to switch to a situational role earlier than most four-time Pro Bowlers do, because he has missed 40 regular-season games in nine years. He has already been on this track, having not eclipsed the 55% snap barrier on defense since 2021 — his most recent non-alternate Pro Bowl season. Bosa has four double-digit sack seasons on his resume — all from 2016-21. He missed much of the ’22 season after groin surgery and was down for eight 2023 games with foot trouble. Last season, Bosa posted modest numbers — five sacks, 13 QB hits, two forced fumbles — but generated a decent FA market.
Read more
The Bills, who were among the teams mentioned in the brief Myles Garrett sweepstakes, may be fooling themselves hoping for extended Bosa work. But they struggled to pressure Mahomes in the AFC championship game and have seen their defense fold in previous playoff brackets. Bosa will join Hoecht, Rousseau and A.J. Epenesa on the edge, with some recent draftees also factoring in. Bosa in a closer-type role could make a difference, but it should be expected he will miss time at points.
It would be helpful to the Bills if Bosa were available early, because Hoecht is set to serve a six-game PED suspension. Unlike Ogunjobi — whose six-game PED ban threatens his roster spot — Hoecht received a multiyear contract and a two-year guarantee. Buffalo had known about Hoecht’s upcoming ban (but not Ogunjobi’s), and the FA deal points to a belief the four-year Rams edge rusher can be a Rousseau wingman for at least two seasons.
Never missing a game with the Rams, Hoecht offers a decent production baseline as a supplementary rusher. He compiled six sacks and seven tackles for loss in 2023, and even after the Rams reduced his snap rate from 2023 to ’24 (85% to 57%) — leading to a mere three sacks and six QB hits — the Bills still shelled out decent cash. Hoecht, Bosa and Epenesa figure to rotate alongside Rousseau, who should lead the Bills in D-end snaps by a healthy margin. The team will hope this quartet can provide better pressure when it matters most.
On a market full of 30-something wide receivers, Palmer stood out. Going into his age-26 season, the former Chargers third-rounder commanded a $15MM guarantee. Another $3MM will come Palmer’s way if he is on the Bills’ roster by Day 5 of the 2026 league year. That is a pretty good bet.
Essentially, Buffalo is hoping Palmer can provide what a 30-year-old Amari Cooper could not. Like most of the Bills’ extensions, this signing is a bet on Palmer outdoing his rookie-contract production. Marquise Brown was also likely on Buffalo’s radar, but he re-signed with Kansas City before free agency.
Nominally the Bolts’ No. 3 wideout for much of his L.A. tenure, the Toronto native filled in frequently during Mike Williams and Keenan Allen‘s injured stretches. Palmer played both outside and in the slot, spending more time near the boundary — which should continue on a team with Shakir, Elijah Moore and Curtis Samuel — and played well in spurts.
Sneaking into PFR’s top 50 free agent list (at No. 49), Palmer totaled a career-high 769 yards in 2022 and averaged a career-best 58.1 yards per game in 2023 (no Bills target bettered the latter number last season). Establishing an early rapport with Josh Allen, Palmer could be an X-factor as the Bills attempt to lean on Shakir and develop Keon Coleman on the other side.
Beane took exception during a radio interview about his receiving corps, and Moore came over shortly after that exchange. The Bills’ draft board not aligning with their WR prospect values led Moore to Buffalo. While the group may not have a true No. 1 wideout, it oozes depth. Mostly a slot player, Moore averaged more than 12 yards per catch in both Jets seasons — mostly with Zach Wilson targeting him — and ran into more bad QB luck in Cleveland. Even as Deshaun Watson faceplanted, Moore combined for 1,178 yards last season.
At 25, the former A.J. Brown/D.K. Metcalf Ole Miss teammate presents intriguing upside. It is worth wondering how much room the Bills have for his talents, though, given Shakir and Samuel’s presences. The latter remains rostered due to a fully guaranteed 2025 salary ($6.91MM) — and perhaps because Beane helped draft him in Carolina. Samuel totaled just 253 yards last season and, even with an $12.1MM dead money sum (which would be spread over two years), is not a roster lock following the Moore signing.
Somehow still flowing in Year 9 of the McDermott-Beane era, the Carolina-to-Buffalo pipeline brought Thompson as well. The former Super Bowl 50 starter will attempt to mix in behind Bills regulars Terrel Bernard and Matt Milano. Thompson, 31, joins Dorian Williams and Joe Andreessen as Buffalo backup LBs.
White’s November 2021 ACL tear began the run of Bills corners not being at full strength in key playoff matchups, and White could not shake off injury issues until his March 2024 Buffalo release. After an unimpressive stint as a Rams starter, White wound up a Ravens backup. The former All-Pro is now nearly two years removed from his October 2023 Achilles tear, and the Bills have him readying to start while Maxwell Hairston‘s LCL injury heals.
CB2 could remain an issue for the Bills, given White’s recent form. The team also circled back to Jackson — a primary White 2022 fill-in who spent last season in Carolina — as a midlevel option in case White cannot recapture starter-level form. The Bills discussed a trade for Jaire Alexander before bringing back White but were not closely connected to the former All-Pro — who wound up a Raven — post-draft. Hairston’s arrival likely affected the Bills’ Alexander interest.
Re-signings:
- Ty Johnson, RB. Two years, $5MM ($2.49MM guaranteed)
- Reid Ferguson, LS. Four years, $6.5MM ($2.37MM guaranteed)
- Damar Hamlin, S. One year, $2MM ($2MM guaranteed)
- Reggie Gilliam, FB. One year, $2MM ($50K guaranteed)
- Ryan Van Demark, T. One year, $1.03MM ($9K guaranteed)
Hamlin being a viable free agent at all represents a remarkable achievement considering the circumstances. The Bills retained the inspirational defender on a low-cost contract, pointing to a depth role after he spent 2024 as a starter. Hamlin, 27, started all 14 games he played last season. PFF did not grade the former fifth-rounder’s contract-year work well, slotting him 85th at safety. But Hamlin has experience as a backup, spending most of the 2023 season in that role after his miraculous recovery.
Revealing on Hard Knocks a full Bo Jackson tweet is tattooed on his back, Hamlin also spent his rookie season and the early part of 2022 — before a Micah Hyde neck injury — as a reserve. Cole Bishop, who saw his workload increase due to starter injuries last season, is poised to supplant Hamlin as a starter. The Bills used a second-round pick on Bishop, pointing to an early-career starter role. Still, Hamlin — who said he wants to finish his career in Buffalo — could become one of the most popular players in franchise history.
Notable losses:
- Jake Camarda, P (waived)
- Amari Cooper, WR
- Rasul Douglas, CB
- Tommy Doyle, T (retired)
- Mack Hollins, WR
- Micah Hyde, S (retired)
- Quinton Jefferson, DT
- Austin Johnson, DT
- Sam Martin, P (released)
- Von Miller, DE (released)
- Quintin Morris, TE (nontendered)
- Jordan Phillips, DT
- Dawuane Smoot, DE
- Baylon Spector, LB (waived via injury settlement)
For a few months in Miller’s first Bills season, he looked to be adding a significant chapter to one of this century’s best defender resumes. A Thanksgiving 2022 ACL tear — Miller’s second as a pro — changed the Bills’ pass-rushing outlook. Miller looked a shell of himself upon returning in 2023, registering no sacks, and had shifted into situational-rushing form last season. While the impending cap casualty bounced back with six sacks (on just eight QB hits) in 13 games, the Bills could not justify carrying his nonguaranteed salary.
Due $17.5MM on his six-year, $120MM deal, Miller became a predictable cut. Miller’s Buffalo tenure did boost him to 16th in career sacks, but the decorated pass rusher’s knee setback effectively ended his prime. The Commanders picked up Miller — on a one-year, $6.1MM accord — this summer. Not released with a post-June 1 designation, Miller counts $15.42MM in 2025 dead money on Buffalo’s payroll.
I wondered in March if Douglas would become the glut of third-contract-seeking cornerbacks’ line of demarcation in free agency. That has been proven true to a greater-than-anticipated degree, as the 1 1/2-year Bills starter remains unattached. This came after the other members of that late-20s CB contingent — D.J. Reed, Byron Murphy, Charvarius Ward, Carlton Davis — all found homes on Day 1 of free agency on deals averaging at least $16MM per year. It is clear Douglas, 30 this month, was dissatisfied with his market.
The early-career nomad-turned-starter gave the Bills excellent coverage work after a 2023 deadline deal, but his metrics regressed last season. Rather than reinvest in an eight-year veteran, the Bills drafted Hairston in Round 1 and re-signed Tre’Davious White as insurance. This is a riskier plan compared to the two-year Benford-Douglas partnership on the outside.
Cooper, 31, joins Douglas in being unsigned after a Buffalo post-trade stop. Acquired for a third-round pick weeks before last year’s deadline, Cooper never took off in the way the Bills hoped. He totaled just 297 receiving yards in nine Bills games. Even though Cooper collected $100MM on his second contract, the seven-time 1,000-yard receiver agreeing to a five-year Cowboys deal in 2020 proved a mistake value-wise.
Cooper hit free agency again at a bad time, given his uninspiring 2024 showing. Had he agreed to a three- or four-year free agency accord, he would have commanded a much better market as a 2023 or ’24 free agent.
Reuniting with Josh McDaniels (three years after their Raiders partnership), Hollins fetched a two-year, 
$8.4MM Patriots deal early in free agency. Coming through as Allen’s most reliable receiver in the latest Bills-Chiefs duel, Hollins’ role limited Cooper’s usage. Hollins logged a surprising 66% snap rate with the Bills, limiting Cooper to 46% — a sharp decline from his usage elsewhere.
Hyde and Phillips made what look like final stopovers in Buffalo, with neither being asked to contribute much. Phillips logged 109 snaps upon rejoining the Bills, after short stops in New York and Dallas, while Hyde — who had re-signed with the Bills on a practice squad deal late in the season — did not make any appearances.
Hyde’s exit — unless the Bills call on Jordan Poyer, as the longtime starter would prefer — closes the book on one of the NFL’s best 21st-century safety tandems. The two played together for seven years, combining to make 202 starts as instrumental pieces during the Bills’ late-2010s turnaround.
Trades:
Adding spice to the Buffalo-Kansas City rivalry, the Bills were believed to be eyeing Trent McDuffie in the 2022 first round. After the Chiefs traded up (via the Patriots), the Bills chose Elam. A stark disparity emerged between the first-round corners chosen two picks apart. Elam could not hold off Benford despite the latter’s low-end prospect profile and, following a midseason rookie-year stretch, never earned an extended starter look.
Benford’s early-game exit in Kansas City, as Tony Romo foreshadowed, provided a significant advantage for the Chiefs. Elam gave Mahomes a much less imposing matchup compared to the sixth-round success story, and the Bills cut bait barely a month later. The Cowboys predictably declined Elam’s fifth-year option, but with Trevon Diggs and rookie Shavon Revel uncertain for Week 1, Elam could be poised to handle a starting role in Dallas opposite DaRon Bland.
Draft:
- Round 1, No. 30: Maxwell Hairston (CB, Kentucky) (signed)
- Round 2, No. 41 (from Bears): T.J. Sanders (DT, South Carolina) (signed)
- Round 3, No. 72 (from Bears): Landon Jackson (DE, Arkansas) (signed)
- Round 4, No. 109 (from Bears through Bills and Bears): Deone Walker (DT, Kentucky) (signed)
- Round 5, No. 170 (from Cowboys)*: Jordan Hancock (CB, Ohio State) (signed)
- Round 5, No. 173*: Jackson Hawes (TE, Georgia Tech) (signed)
- Round 6, No. 177 (from Giants): Dorian Strong (CB, Virginia Tech) (signed)
- Round 6, No. 206: Chase Lundt (T, UConn) (signed)
- Round 7, 240 (from Vikings through Browns and Bears): Kaden Prather (WR, Maryland) (signed)
Steady Bills cornerback connections preceded the team choosing Hairston as an Elam makeup call. Blazing to the fastest 40-yard dash at this year’s Combine (4.28 seconds), Hairston will be asked — once he recovers from his LCL injury and ramps up — to complement Christian Benford. Hairston’s rookie deal will overlap with Benford’s guarantee years, giving a Bills team carrying a eight-figure-per-year slot corner (Taron Johnson) on its books.
The Bills were believed to be in on Ole Miss’ Trey Amos, but he fell into the late second round. Instead, our Ely Allen’s mock draft nailed the Hairston-Buffalo match. A Kentucky-record three pick-sixes placed Hairston on the map in 2023, but he followed up the five-INT campaign with only one pick and five passes defensed in an abbreviated 2024. (Though, that singular pick was also returned for a score.) After White and Elam, Hairston is Buffalo’s third first-round CB pick under McDermott.
A shoulder injury led to five 2024 absences, and the Bills have not ruled out a season-opening IR stint regarding the LCL sprain. While the team dodged a bullet with the speedster avoiding an ACL tear, it could be a while before he is ready for starter work. A future Hairston suspension — due to a civil suit alleging sexual assault — may also be on the radar. Hairston denied the allegation, and Beane insisted the Bills did extensive background work on the promising CB.
The Bills traded up 15 spots for Sanders, illustrating the confidence in the South Carolina product. Sanders has impressed already, putting Larry Ogunjobi on the roster bubble. Packages featuring Sanders and Ed Oliver rushing together would stand to provide a boost on passing downs. Sanders combined to tally 8.5 sacks and 17 TFLs during his final two Gamecocks seasons.
If nothing else, the interior rusher gives the Bills important depth behind Oliver — after the team trotted out mostly older veterans alongside its DT centerpiece last season. Walker also became Buffalo-bound after a trade-up move, highlighting the team’s commitment to this position.
The Bills’ view of Sanders contrasted from both the Dane Brugler and Daniel Jeremiah big boards, which respectively had the SEC D-tackle ranked 70th and 98th in this year’s class. Conversely, NFL.com and The Athletic big boards ranked Jackson 43rd and 47th.
Jackson combined for 13 sacks and 24 TFLs during his final two Arkansas seasons. A big Senior Bowl showing did not end up vaulting Jackson into Round 2, but the power-based rusher profiles as an interesting value play to potentially serve as a long-term Rousseau complement — with Bosa on a one-year deal and Epenesa in a contract year.
Other:
The Bills will need to have a post-Brady plan in the near future; another strong offensive season — which seems likely — probably catapults the 36-year-old staffer into a top job. Brady and his Buffalo OC predecessors have not needed to have an Allen backup plan since the durable QB’s rookie season, but the Bills need to at least establish a depth chart.
The loser of the Trubisky-White battle could either be retained on a practice squad deal and stashed as the emergency QB3 or kept as a third active-roster passer — a less likely proposition due to Allen’s health run. Trubisky held the job last year, but White now has a full offseason in Brady’s offense — after the ex-Jets starter and Dolphins backup joined the team just before last season. Entering his age-31 season, Trubisky still appears the favorite. It will be interesting to see if the Bills chance cutting White, as another gig could await over another year on Buffalo’s P-squad.
Considering all the extension work the Bills did this offseason, some performers were bound to be left out. While time remains for McGovern and/or Edwards to re-sign before hitting free agency, the Bills have another season to evaluate right guard O’Cyrus Torrence for a possible 2026 extension.
This becomes a pivotal year for Edwards, who has not been paid commensurate with his starting experience. The former Super Bowl LVI starter saw a 2022 concussion sidetrack his 2023 market. After playing out a $1.77MM Bills deal, Edwards received a raise (two years, $6MM) to move into the starting lineup after Mitch Morse‘s exit slid McGovern to center. Edwards, 28, will probably be the more affordable option compared to McGovern as far as an extension goes.
Top 10 cap charges for 2025:
- Josh Allen, QB: $36.34MM
- Dion Dawkins, LT: $19.98MM
- Dawson Knox, TE: $14.57MM
- Matt Milano, LB: $12.19MM
- Ed Oliver, DT: $11.24MM
- DaQuan Jones, DT: $9.41MM
- Connor McGovern, C: $9.39MM
- Curtis Samuel, WR: $9.07MM
- Spencer Brown, RT: $8.18MM
- Taron Johnson, S: $8.01MM
While bad injury luck (and a controversial ball spot that helped usher long-overdue technology into measurement proceedings) has undoubtedly played a key role in the Bills’ playoff struggles, they continue to come up short in the biggest spots. The Bills have not done well to capitalize — in a loaded AFC, that is — on their Hall of Fame-level QB talent in the way a sturdy Chiefs infrastructure has with theirs.
After last year’s retooling project nearly brought a Super Bowl berth, the Bills join the Ravens in being unable to supplant a Chiefs dynasty atop the conference. Will the recently extended players finally change the guard in the AFC and produce the Bills’ first Super Bowl berth in 32 years? Anything less — barring major injury trouble — will probably be deemed another letdown, representing how much the measuring stick has changed in Buffalo as the McDermott-Beane duo nears a second decade in charge.
Allen’s new contract is more of a lucrative rework than a true extension. Only two new years are included; the QB is now tied to the Bills through the 2030 season. But the Bills rewarded their franchise cornerstone with a massive guarantee influx. Allen, 28, received what amounts to a $90MM raise on his previous deal. The fully guaranteed money represented the lead item here. Allen’s $147MM figure is well south of Deshaun Watson‘s $230MM, but this contract beats every other deal in terms of fully guaranteed money. Although Allen could not catch Dak Prescott‘s massive $60MM-AAV accord — one achieved with far more leverage than the Bills QB carried — he topped the Cowboys passer in upfront guarantees.
The Bills have continued to receive full participation from their dual-threat dynamo, despite regular punishment on scrambles and designed runs. Allen has logged 759 regular-season carries and 112 more in the playoffs, signing up for hits Jackson deftly avoids in the process. Obviously important as a passer, Allen’s run-game prowess separates him as an all-time talent. Allen already ranks sixth in career QB carries; he will move into fourth early this season. While the Bills may need to rein in their do-it-all player on that front at some point to ensure he remains elite through the duration of this contract, the franchise is enjoying the spoils of its two-trade-up 2018 presently.
The 2024 running back resurgence did bring a market reset, thanks to Saquon Barkley‘s otherworldly season, and Derrick Henry receiving $25MM guaranteed at signing despite being 31. Beyond those Hall of Fame-caliber talents, no true shift occurred. Last fall established a second tier at the position, with James Conner, Chuba Hubbard and David Montgomery following Rhamondre Stevenson in landing extensions between $8.3MM and $9.5MM per year. Alvin Kamara‘s third Saints contract came in at $12.25MM AAV. This offseason brought two notable deals in between those goalposts.
Cook and Shakir have been Allen’s steadiest weapons since Joe Brady replaced Ken Dorsey as OC midway through the 2023 season. While Stefon Diggs disappointed to close that campaign, Shakir emerged as a reliable target and developed further in 2024. The slot cog led a more egalitarian Bills pass-catching corps with 821 receiving yards. Seventy-six catches and four touchdowns to go with that yardage total did not provide Diggs-level numbers, but Shakir was not asked for such contributions. The extension reflects such a role.
Of the Shakir-Bernard-Rousseau-Benford quartet, Bernard did the best in terms of AAV at his position. His $10.5MM number still ranks only 12th among off-ball ‘backers, marking what looks like another solid compromise from the Bills. This deal reminds of Milano’s second contract (in 2021), but with the cap spiking by nearly $100MM since that offseason, Bernard’s is a much team-friendlier agreement. The Bills also did not guarantee any money beyond 2026, giving them an easy out — in the event this bet on an ascending player fails — by 2027.
Identifying Cook, Shakir, Bernard and Rousseau as core players to extend, the Bills included Benford in that group after he had taken the longest road to such status. Chosen in the same 2022 draft as first-rounder Kaiir Elam, Benford quickly showed he was the better player. Also coming from Division I-FCS (Villanova), Benford entered his rookie season with minimal fanfare. But Benford earned a starting gig early, giving Tre’Davious White more time to rehab his first major injury. When the Bills acquired Rasul Douglas at the 2023 deadline, it was to give them an answer opposite Benford, not Elam.
Despite his ill-timed absences, Benford secured what is now an upper-middle-class CB extension. Buffalo’s Benford deal came after both Jaycee Horn and Derek Stingley Jr. raised the market’s ceiling, but the team still has its top cover man tied to the 19th-most lucrative CB contract. Benford, 25 in September, likely would have done better by waiting until free agency (or a franchise tag). But the Bills, continuing their offseason theme, convinced him to re-up early.
More undercard (to the extension cycle’s main event) in this Bills offseason, free agency still brought some important additions. The three most significant came from Los Angeles.
