5 targets for Bills in 2022 NFL free agency

If the Bills do bring back one free agent internally, it has to be Harrison Phillips

Buffalo has a handful of players it can bring back on new contracts that are hitting free agency. Should the Bills prioritize bringing back only one of them, one could easily argue for that player to be defensive tackle Harrison Phillips. While he has never played in every single game in a season for them, he is a productive player when he is out there for Buffalo. The Bills cannot let him walk.

Is Phillips a candidate for the franchise tag? Maybe, but they might be able to orchestrate a more team-friendly, long-term deal for the former third-round pick by Buffalo out of Stanford in the 2018 NFL Draft. Keep in mind that this was a player McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane chose to bring into their organization very early on. That may matter a ton to both them.

Ultimately, Phillips will have other suitors in his free agency, but one would have to believe Buffalo remains in the driver’s seat to get him back on a second contract. If Buffalo wants to stay atop the AFC East and contend for Super Bowls, the Bills cannot afford for the defense to slip up. Though the offense may regress in year one without Daboll, Leslie Frazier and McDermott are still in place.

Buffalo should be lucky Phillips thrives on the defensive interior and not starring out on the edge.