GM Brandon Beane faced with tough decisions regarding Bills free agents

The Bills fell short of their Super Bowl goal as they lost in the divisional round once again. It’s safe to say the team battled through a lot this season, but they couldn’t get it done in the playoffs. They are now headed to the offseason with a lot of questions that need to be answered. One of the biggest questions for the coaching staff and front office is how they are going to handle key players leaving for free agency.

The Bills have 13 free agents from the offensive side of the ball.

Offensive free agents (13): 

• Case Keenum (34, QB, UFA)
• Devin Singletary (25, RB, UFA)
• Taiwan Jones (34, RB, UFA)
• Cole Beasley (33, WR, UFA) 
• Jamison Crowder (29, WR, UFA) 
• Jake Kumerow (30, WR, UFA) 
• Tommy Sweeny (27, TE, UFA) 
• Rodger Saffold (34, G, UFA)
• Greg Van Roten (32, G, UFA) 
• Ike Boettger (28, G, UFA) 
• Justin Murray (30, T, UFA) 
• Bobby Hart (28, T, UFA) 
• David Quessenberry (32, T, UFA) 

The Bills offense has struggled at times through the season and definitely didn’t show up in the final stretch of the postseason. They found a large problem at the wide receiver position. Stefon Diggs played great, but aside from him, no other receiver played up to par.

The offensive line has struggled all season long. The Bills’ top o-lineman Dion Dawkins finished the season with a PFF grade of 73.8. Everyone else on the o-line finished the season with a grade of 61 or below, with one major issue at left guard where Rodger Saffold (going into free agency) finished the season with a 44.1 PFF grade. The Bills have six offensive linemen set to enter free agency.

The Bills losing running back Devin Singletary to free agency would hurt the running game, but rookie running back James Cook out of Georgia has shown promise and should help the offense moving forward. The running back free agent pool in the NFL ranges far this offseason.

Taiwan Jones is a name that not many NFL fans know but he is a big part to the Bills special teams success. Losing Jones would be a big loss to the Bills special teams.

On the defensive side, the Bills have 11 players set to enter free agency.

Defensive free agents (11):

• Jordan Phillips (31, DT, UFA) 
• Shaq Lawson (28, DE, UFA) 
• Tyler Matakevich (30, ILB, UFA)
• Tremaine Edmunds (24, ILB, UFA) 
• A.J. Klein (31, OLB, UFA) 
• Tyrel Dotson (31, LB, RFA)
• Cam Lewis (25, CB, RFA)
• Dane Jackson (26, CB, RFA) 
• Jordan Poyer (31, S, UFA)
• Jaquan Johnson (27, S, UFA)
• Dean Marlowe (30, S, UFA)

The Bills defense has seen a bit of a downgrade from past seasons, even with notable moves in the offseason that many thought would boost the run defense and pressure the quarterback. But, the injury to Von Miller set them back.

Linebacker Tremaine Edmunds is one of the biggest free agent concerns with the amount of progress he’s made from the 2021 season to the 2022 season. Edmunds has shown improved instincts and has given the defense a boost.

The secondary for the Bills is another concern. Dane Jackson started for much of the year, but he will be a restricted free agent this offseason. The team has began the transition of starting Kaiir Elam across from Tre’Davious White.

Safety Jordan Poyer is a big concern, much like Edmunds. Poyer has been a big part of the culture in the Bills secondary since he was brought in alongside Micah Hyde back in 2017. He has been a bright spot for the Bills defense from the start of his career with the Bills. Not seeing him on the field for Buffalo would hurt the secondary. He is 31 years old and battled injuries throughout the 2022 season.

Special Teams (1): 

• Sam Martin (32, P, UFA) 

The Bills currently have $-15,983,850 in cap space. It will take a lot of moves to work back into positive cap space. GM Brandon Beane and HC Sean McDermott will have to figure things out and make tough decisions based on player performance and also how they envision the identity of the team moving forward.