Despite the overwhelming disadvantage they will face, the Bills have insisted on sending away this well-known football wizard because of….
As of the 2024 offseason, the Buffalo Bills are over the salary cap. To come under while still having enough cap room to take care of their most pressing needs, they will need to make some financial adjustments.
According to OverTheCap.com, the base salary cap for 2024 is projected to be $242 million, meaning that the Bills are currently $50.6 million over.
In addition to the NFL Scouting Combine, College Pro Days, and player visits, they have to get under the cap by March 13th, the start of the new league year, and before free agency begins.
Apart from budgeting for free agency acquisitions, they also need to set aside funds for signing the players in their 2024 NFL draft class and paying for their practice squad.
GM Brandon Beane will be comparing the players who are scheduled to become free agents to the available talent in order to decide which players to potentially sign and re-sign in order to bolster the squad.
Beane has regularly restructured player contracts as a means of freeing up the funds required to make those upgrades.
The following list of ten current Buffalo Bills players might be considered for restructuring in order to improve Buffalo’s salary cap situation in 2024:
Josh Allen, quarterback
Josh Allen, quarterback for the Bills, signed a deal that included room for growth and competition when he signed it.
With his cap hit at $47.1 million this year, the peak of that contract (compared to $39.7 in 2023 and $16.3 in 2022), there will need to be a significant reorganization to turn that money into something more manageable so Beane can make improvements to the squad.
Beane has the option to convert Allen’s entire pay—which consists of a base salary of $23.5 million and a roster bonus of $6 million—into one of his hallmark prorated signing bonuses.
Cap space of $22.63 million would be created by the change.
Allen should lead by example both on and off the field and set the tone for these restructures by concentrating on getting beyond the postseason hump and moving forward to compete for a Super Bowl.
Tre’Davious White, CB
In addition to being a vital leader for the Bills, Tre White has had injury struggles over the last two seasons.
Since his 2021 campaign, the ailments have kept him from participating in the entire season.
His absence from the field during Buffalo’s postseason run left them facing TE Travis Kelce and the Chiefs in a game where his contributions were both missed and required.
Although there is no timeline for his Achilles injury recovery, perhaps he can assist the club off the field as he recovers.
$7.39 million in cap room could be created by converting White’s base salary and roster bonus for 2024 into a guaranteed signing bonus and adding two non-guaranteed years to prorate it.
TE Dawson Knox
Since TE Dawson Knox has a large amount of guaranteed money remaining on his contract through 2024, he might help the Bills free up $5.86 million to support the cap cause.
To make that space, Knox could reorganize his 14.3 million cap hit.
Matt Milano, LB
Milano’s cap impact may be amortized over four years (the remaining three years of his present contract plus an empty year) by restructuring his $4.125 million base salary to convert to a signing bonus, freeing up $2.19 million in contractual space this summer.
Ryan Bates, an OL
Bates’s current contract has two years left on it, plus two vacant years from a prior reorganization.
The organization could save $2.08 million if his $3.4 million base salary in 2024 is converted to a prorated signing bonus.
Jordan S. Poyer
Poyer, another team captain, may provide the Bills with cap room at a crucial juncture.
A empty year added to his contract and the conversion of his signing bonus would free up $1.765 million in cap space.
CB Douglas Rasul
Despite the fact that the prorated money did not go toward Buffalo’s cap, Douglas joined the team at the trade deadline having already completed three void years on his current contract.
The three vacant years would allow the Bills to lower his salary hit and free up $6.03 million.
C. Mitch Morse
The Bills may restructure Morse’s existing contract and add a few vacant years in the meantime until they achieve a short-term extension that would create $5.01 million while setting him up for one.
G. Connor McGovern
McGovern may turn his $5.8 million base salary into a signing bonus as part of a three-year contract that includes a void year, freeing him $3.12 million in cap room for Buffalo.
RB Nyheim Hines
Hines may lower his $5.16 million 2024 hit by taking a pay cut for the second straight year, freeing about $2.5 million in cap space.
