Bills free agency: Dissecting GM's comments to determine how they'll use newfound cap space

The Buffalo Bills are staring down the barrel of financial disaster. The Bills are approximately $41.3 million over the salary cap limit in 2024, even after the NFL announced a record-shattering salary cap ceiling of $255.4 million for 2024. That's the largest salary cap deficit in the league.

Things will begin moving quickly before the start of the new league year at 4 p.m. ET on March 13. Buffalo needs to be under the salary cap limit by that date, while also creating additional space to sign their upcoming draft class and bring back their upcoming free agents.

The Bills have become accustomed to beginning their offseasons with cap overages. In the past, they managed to get by with restructured contracts, which moved money into future years. While the constant restructures provided temporary relief, they also created severe cap ramifications in future years. Buffalo knew they would have to pay the price eventually, and it seems the bill has finally arrived. The Bills have never faced a deficit this large with so few players signed to their active roster.

Bills general manager Brandon Beane likely hoped the contract restructures would lead to a Super Bowl championship, which would have made the eventual financial penalty of those restructures forgivable. Instead, the Bills have seen untimely exits in the divisional round of the playoffs for three consecutive seasons. There is still no Lombardi Trophy on display in Orchard Park, and getting to the championship game will be harder now than it has ever been for coach Sean McDermott.

Buffalo Bills GM Brandon Beane discusses future of star players

Buffalo's general manager met with reporters at the NFL Scouting Combine to address the team's salary cap and the future of some of Buffalo's star players, including wide receiver Stefon Diggs, safety Jordan Poyer, and cornerback Tre'Davious White, among others.

Stefon Diggs

Stefon Diggs has been at the center of controversy in Buffalo and questions about his future with the team have lingered for months. Beane put those doubts to rest on Tuesday.

“Yeah, I expect him to be here,” the general manager said when asked about Diggs' future in Buffalo.

The Bills don't have much of a choice in the matter. Trading Diggs would result in a $31 million cap charge, which is more than they would owe to keep him on the team. Trading the star wideout with a post-June 1 designation would leave them with a $22 million cap charge in 2025, which wouldn't be ideal either. Not to mention that Diggs is still the only legitimate top-tier weapon currently on the team's roster.

Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer

For years, Buffalo's secondary has been anchored by the ball-hawking safety duo of Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer. In 2024, the Bills defense may take the field without either of them. Hyde, who is a free agent, has been mulling retirement. Poyer, who has one year left on his contract, seems to have lost a step. Buffalo could save $5.7 million in cap space by releasing Poyer this offseason, and Beane was noncommittal on retaining the 33-year-old moving forward.

“Whether ... you have to replace [both safeties] all at once, or whether you keep one or keep both, those are all decisions we’re still working through on our end,” Beane said.

Tre'Davious White

Not too long ago, Tre'Davious White was considered to be among the best lockdown cornerbacks in the NFL. The former All-Pro has suffered two season-ending injuries in the past three years — a torn ACL in 2021 and a torn Achilles in 2023. Buffalo could save $6 million by parting ways with him now, but he would carry a $10 million dead cap charge.

Beane has said he wants White to get healthy before determining the cornerback's future in Buffalo. White, who has been the leader of the Bills' defense when he's healthy, is owed a $1.5 million roster bonus after the new league year begins. Any decision on his future will likely be made before then.

Buffalo Bills GM suggests a conservative approach in 2024

“We will work around [the salary cap],” Beane said in January. “We’re not planning to take a year off and just not be competitive. Will we be younger in some areas? Yes. Will we have to rely on draft picks? Yes. But I’m not laying my head down tonight going ‘We don’t have a shot at it next year.”

The Bills have to dissect and reconstruct their roster, and they'll need all of the surgical tools at their disposal to do so, whether it's contract restructures, contract extensions, or releases. That process has already begun — the Bills cleared up $3.7 million in cap space by restructuring the contract of starting left guard Connor McGovern. It's a good start, but the team still has a long way to go.

The Bills currently have nine players on contracts with a cap hit higher than $10 million. Quarterback Josh Allen and wide receiver Stefon Diggs account for a combined $74.9 million cap figure — nearly 30 percent of the team's total salary cap. Defensive end Von Miller ($23.7 million) and left tackle Dion Dawkins ($16.6 million) carry the next largest cap hits.

Before the NFL finalized the salary cap figure for the 2024 NFL season, the Bills seemed to be planning for an extremely conservative approach. Beane was relieved to see the final number come in roughly $15 million higher than he expected.

"Every dollar you can get helps you," he said. "We’re working now through guys to restructure, you saw we did with Connor McGovern yesterday and had conversations going on in the last few weeks with different players, representatives, just various things, whether it’s extensions, whether it’s modifying their contract, whether it’s — in this case — restructuring, which is really just moving some money down [the road]."

Possible contract restructures

One non-negotiable move is restructuring the contract of quarterback Josh Allen, who has an untenable $47.1 million cap hit in 2024. The Bills can convert his $23.5 million base salary and $6 million roster bonus into a prorated signing bonus that spreads throughout the remaining five years of his contract. That move alone could clear roughly $22.6 million in cap space, which is over half of Buffalo's current overage.

Beane suggested that the Bills will approach restructuring with caution. Buffalo has to be wise about which contracts they're willing to restructure based on age and position. Otherwise, they could end up being stuck with an aging player they no longer want and a contract that they can't afford.

“Now that we know the cap we’re working through getting under,” Beane said. "How much [space] can we create without totally piling up a huge mess in ’25 or ’26, whatever year it is?”

With that in mind, Buffalo will likely be hesitant about restructuring Diggs' contact, despite his significant cap hit. While Beane expressed confidence in Diggs returning to the team in 2024, that may be due to the fact that there is no realistic way for the Bills to part ways with him. Restructuring Diggs' contract would increase his 2025 salary cap hit from $27.3 million to roughly $35 million. That only essentially guarantee that Diggs would be on the team in 2025, at age 32. Still, a restructure with Diggs could provide $13 million in cap relief if Buffalo really needs it.

Similarly, defensive end Von Miller could help alleviate $12 million in cap space, but a restructure wouldn't be beneficial for the Bills in 2025. The 35-year-old will be a first-ballot inductee into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but his production has declined drastically. Buffalo could save $8.5 million in cap space if they wait to part ways with Miller next offseason. If they restructured him, they would be signing up for another massive cap hit during the 2025 NFL season.

Tre'Davious White's $1.5 million roster bonus makes his contract time-sensitive, and it doesn't sound like Beane wants to move on from White just yet. A short-term extension with void years and non-guaranteed money could provide a bit of cap relief and allow the Bills to reassess the contract next offseason. With the uncertainty of Tre'Davious White's health, cornerback Rasul Douglas should be Buffalo's top priority at cornerback. Douglas, who was acquired via trade last season, developed into a star with the Bills. The 28-year-old corner is set to be a free agent after 2024, and an extension could help Buffalo save $6 million in cap space.

Free agency

Based on Beane's comments in January, the Bills won't be active participants in the free agency market. Their salary cap situation is in dire straits, so they'd be unable to compete for many of the top available players. The Bills will hope to re-sign free agent wide receiver Gabe Davis, but the team will likely lose most of the players on expiring contracts. Instead, Buffalo will likely aim to acquire new talent through April's draft.

"I don't think you're gonna see any splashes [in free agency] even if I found something that was exciting to me," Beane said after the 2023 season. "I don't think it would fit within our cap parameters. ... It's not feasible to where we're at, but we're gonna use every resource we can."

The Bills have 10 selections during the 2024 NFL Draft, including the No. 28 overall pick in the first round. Expect to see a youth movement in Buffalo.