Bills Offseason Plan - Part Three

DEPTH CHART REVIEW

Before the pocket book gets opened, let's take a look at the Bills depth chart as I would have had it after restructures, pay cuts, and extensions. You can see some huge holes on the roster, particularly at wide receiver, along the defensive line, and at safety.

RE-SIGNINGS

The Bills can (and have) plug a few of these with in-house re-signings.

17. LG David Edwards, Contract: One-year, $1,125,000, Two-year, $6,000,000 - 2024 Cap Hit: $2,950,000

I tabbed Edwards to continue in his sixth offensive lineman role playing behind established starters Connor McGovern and O'Cyrus Torrence. When the Bills cut Mitch Morse and shifted McGovern to center it opened up left guard for Edwards. It makes sense for the Bills to lock him in for another year to see how performs as a starter. The 2025 dead money cap hit is just $875,000 if the Bills end up wanting to move on.

18. TE Quintin Morris, Contract: One-year, $985,000

Morris is an Exclusive Rights Free Agent meaning the Bills simply need to tender offer for $985,000 to retain his services. The Bills announced a one-year deal with Morris but details have not yet been released.

19. CB Cam Lewis, Contract: One-year, $1,125,000, Two-year, $4,000,000 reportedly - 2024 Cap Hit: TBD

Lewis is an important, versatile piece of the Bills secondary, particularly with Micah Hyde leaving and Jordan Poyer and Tre'Davious White being cut. Lewis provides experienced depth at nickel corner, safety, and on special teams. According to Adam Schefter and Lewis' agent, it's a two-year, $4,000,000 deal to stay in Orchard Park.

20. IDL DaQuan Jones, Contract: One-year, $10,000,000 with one void year - 2024 Cap Hit: $7,500,000

The big fish, and arguably the most important free agent for the Bills to re-sign. Jones was outstanding when healthy in 2023 and the Bills will be left with a 320-lb hole in the middle of the defensive line if it cannot bring him back. Ed Oliver is the only returning interior lineman with Eli Ankou and Kameron Cline signed to Reserve/Future deals. The void year allows the Bills to split a $5,000,000 signing bonus in 2024 and 2025. If Jones is not on the roster next season the Bills would incur a $2,500,000 dead money charge.

NEW SIGNINGS

With some holes plugged via re-signings the Bills front office can look to value free agents to build out depth at wide receiver, safety, and along the defensive line. A back up quarterback and running back should also be brought in at near-minimum level contracts. The Bills have cycled through back ups at these positions for years and I don't expect anything different from Beane this time around.

21. WR Noah Brown, Contract: One-year, $3,500,000

Every mock draft has the Bills going wide receiver in one of the first two rounds, and while I think that will happen, I also think Beane will bring in a vet to stabilize the group. With Gabe Davis off to Jacksonville I anticipate the front office will supplement Stefon Diggs and Khalil Shakir with another down field threat and then look to strike gold in the draft. This is a front office that once brought in John Brown and Emmanuel Sanders, and that's the type of role I envision for Noah Brown.

22. EDGE Tyquan Lewis, Contract: One-year, $4,000,000, Re-signed with Indianapolis, two-year, $12m with $7.7m guaranteed, Jordan Schultz

The Bills are likely to be priced out of the markets for retaining A.J. Epenesa or Leonard Floyd. I could see them following a similar strategy as last offseason when Beane and Co. waited until June to strike a deal with the ring-chasing Floyd. Lewis was on the high end of names in the Bills budget range and it's not a surprise the Colts re-signed him. Other names to watch include Josh Uche and Jadeveon Clowney, along with possibly bringing back Shaq Lawson.

23. IDL Sebastian Joseph-Day, Contract: One-year, $3,500,000

This position becomes even more paramount for the Bills if it is unable to bring DaQuan Jones back into the fold. For now, I have Beane targeting the 29-year old Joseph-Day was with the Chargers in 2022 and 49ers last season. Joseph-Day, along with Jones and Oliver, will give Sean McDermott the depth and rotation he craves on the interior.

24. S Jeremy Chinn, Contract: One-year, $3,000,000

The Bills were in the market at safety before it moved on from Poyer. Bringing back Taylor Rapp and Cam Lewis helps with depth, but I suspect McDermott will want a starting-caliber safety manning the back of his defense. Chinn is coming off four years in Carolina and is just 26 years old. With the market for safety appearing depressed this offseason there is a chance the Bills could add Chinn as a part of the present and future.

25. RB A.J. Dillon, Contract: One-year, $2,500,000

Things never really got untracked for Dillon in Green Bay. His role could be more defined in Buffalo backing up James Cook and serving as the team's lead short yardage back. Beane has played this song before, bringing in Damien Harris and Latavius Murray last offseason, and Leonard Fournette during the season after Harris went down with an injury. I expect the Bills fill out the RB room behind Cook with a vet (or two) and a late-round draft pick.

26. QB Mitchell Trubisky, Contract: One-year, $1,210,000, Two-year, $5,250,000 - 2024 Cap Hit: $2,000,000

Brandon Beane struck quickly to bring Trubisky back as John Allen's back up. I was slightly surprised to see this for more than the minimum, but it should provide some decent stability behind Allen. As Tom Moore once said of Peyton Manning's back ups not getting more reps in practice, "If 18 goes down, we're f*cked, and we don't practice f*cked."