Three Questions the Bills Have to Answer for the Offseason
The Buffalo Bills had their season ended by Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid yet again. On the plus side, this loss makes for a very optimistic offseason as opposed to the past one. No analyst worth their weight in gold will repeat the mistake of predicting the Bills to finish 9-8 or 10-7 while not winning their division. By taking on all of Stefon Diggs’ $31 million dead money cap hit this season, they’ll be more equipped to improve the roster in the coming months. When it comes to improving the roster, the team has a few questions to answer in terms of how the team will look.
When Does Von Miller Get Released?
This is sadly a “when” and not an “if” question. Von Miller has been a big swing-and-miss for general manager Brandon Beane. When it was announced that the Bills signed Miller to a six-year, $120 million contract at the beginning of free agency in 2022, Bills fans were ecstatic. Miller had been a major factor in the Rams winning the Super Bowl, getting four sacks and six tackles for loss in the playoffs, leading all defenders. His first season in Buffalo was off to a great start, too, sacking the quarterback eight times in 11 games. However, he’s never been the same player since tearing his ACL on Thanksgiving two years ago. It will free up much-needed cap space by letting him go, but the only question is, do they make him a post-June first designation or release him early on?
What Position Does Beane Take at No. 30?
Josh Allen brought a very limited group of pass-catchers to the AFC Championship Game, leading to discussions on whether the Bills will build on their receiving corps in the draft. After all, Amari Cooper and Mack Hollins are pending unrestricted free agents, while Keon Coleman looked very green as a rookie. The real letdown in their final game was the defense, though. Mahomes carried his offense to more than 30 points for the first time all season, proving very efficient at running the ball against a very soft defensive line. The consensus among early mock drafts seems to be that the team will bolster the defensive line in some way, whether that be at edge or defensive tackle. Greg Rousseau, AJ Epenesa, Ed Oliver, and DaQuan Jones led in snap counts on the front four. Rousseau was the best by a slim margin, all four of them are solid defenders but not game-breakers, and the Bills will want someone to pressure the quarterback opposite of him. Also, the team may seek to fix their interior with a 33-year-old Jones battling Father Time and Oliver declining from ‘23 to ‘24.
Do Bills Trot Out New Secondary for Second Straight Season?
From 2018-21, the Bills had the same five players as the starters on Buffalo’s secondary. This would typically be four players, but Sean McDermott’s nickel defense is his calling card, which has been absolutely exceptional. Tre’Davious White, Levi Wallace, Taron Johnson, Micah Hyde, and Jordan Poyer had become household names in Buffalo. Fast forward to 2024, and the only player still on the roster is nickel cornerback Johnson; White’s injury bug forced him to miss 29 games from 2021-23 while old age caught up to Hyde and Poyer, who looked like a shell of themselves in 2023. Johnson, Christian Benford, and Rasul Douglas have been the starting corners since 2023, but Douglas’ contract expires this offseason, as well as Damar Hamlin’s. There’s nothing stopping the Bills from retaining them; however, Douglas underperformed mightily this past season and will be 30 years old while Hamlin has been performing well, but he played under his rookie contract, netting a cap hit of only $1.095 million.
