Buffalo Bills Could Have Contract Drama During 2024 Season With Key Starter
Per a team insider, the Buffalo Bills could have more contract drama before next March. The Bills had to part ways with several key players this offseason in order to clear cap space ahead of free agency. They also traded wide receiver Stefon Diggs in a bid to save money and become less selfish in 2024.
The Buffalo Bills lost some key offensive players due to cap space
The Bills offense will look different without Diggs. It will also look different without Mitch Morse and Ryan Bates, two key offensive linemen. Tim Graham with The Athletic wrote about another offensive lineman the Bills could lose before the 2025 season.
Spencer Brown is in the final year of his rookie deal
Graham thinks the Bills have an important decision to make on offensive tackle Spencer Brown. He named Brown as a contract to watch this season:
One of the few question marks heading into last season was whether the 2021 third-round pick could fulfill his promise after a rocky sophomore campaign. Brown answered with authority, playing every single one of Buffalo’s 1,305 snaps. Pro Football Focus charted him for only two more pressures than Pro Bowl left tackle Dion Dawkins.
Brown now enters the final year of his rookie contract. The Bills will have significant cap space next year after receiver Stefon Diggs’ dead money clears, but they can save a lot by extending Brown in the next few months and not letting him get close enough to free agency to get curious about testing the open market.
Brown is in the same boat as Teven Jenkins
Brown’s situation is reminiscent of what the Chicago Bears are dealing with regarding Teven Jenkins’ contract. Jenkins is one of the Bears’ best offensive linemen when healthy, but he’s struggled to stay on the field his first three seasons. The Bears would save millions by extending Jenkins’ contract this offseason.
The Bears haven’t yet reached out to Jenkins to extend the offensive guard’s contract. They want to see if he can stay healthy this season. One would assume the Bills would do the same with Brown. The money the Bills would save by extending Brown now isn’t worth the risk after just one healthy season in Buffalo.
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