The Latest on the Bills Offseason
With the NFL offseason in full swing, the Buffalo Bills are active. In this article, I will bring you up to date with the latest moves made by the team.
The release of John Brown
Let’s get started with the most recent move. Yesterday afternoon, wide receiver John Brown was released. In a interview, Brown said he was surprised about being released. He still had one year left on his current contract and was a key piece to the offense. I speak for myself when I say this but I wasn’t surprised by this move. For whatever reason, I just had a feeling he wouldn’t be on the team next season. It’s a mystery and Brown also said he doesn’t know if quarterback Josh Allen was made aware of this. Regardless, I wish nothing but the best for Brown and I hope he does great wherever he goes next.
Quinton Jefferson released
Brown wasn’t the only player to get released from Buffalo. Defensive end Quinton Jefferson was also let go from the team. Like Brown, I wasn’t surprised by this move. According to Pro Football Reference, Jefferson registered three sacks and 14 tackles (solo). As you can see from the tweet below, it seems like he was disappointed but understands it’s a business and he’s ready to move on.
Just got off the phone with #Bills DL Quinton Jefferson on his impending release from the team: "It's still fresh, but it's okay. It is a business. Right now, I'm just trying to spend time with the family and figure out what's next."
— IG: JosinaAnderson (@JosinaAnderson) March 10, 2021
Morse and Butler take pay cuts
Moving on from the releases, a couple of players took a pay cut. Starting off with center Mitch Morse, Buffalo restructured his contract with Morse taking a $2 million pay cut, according to Ian Rapoport. Defensive tackle Vernon Butler also had his contract restructured. As of now, we do not know how much of a pay cut he took but it’s nice to see some players helping out freeing up some cap space for the team.
Contract extensions
The Bills also extended a couple of players. Buffalo extended the contracts of safety Micah Hyde and linebacker Andre Smith. Starting off with Hyde, he received a two year, $19.25 million contract extension. According to Marcel Louis-Jacques, Hyde was set to become a free agent after this season. It was important for Buffalo to bring back one of their best defenders and they did just that. For Andre Smith, it was a two year deal. He is a linebacker but he does play a role on the special teams unit.
Where they stand
Before these moves, the Bills cap space was very tight. Now, they have freed it up a bit. I do expect a couple more players to be either released or taking a pay cut, but it’s good to see Buffalo trying to free up some money.
Had about $4M in space after Morse's reduction yesterday.
Add another $14M or so after Brown/Jefferson releases.
= about $18M + whatever Butler's salary is reduced. https://t.co/YXcVixW7uq
— Sal Capaccio 🏈 (@SalSports) March 10, 2021
Bills cap with releases:
John Brown: Save $7.6M
Quinton Jefferson: Save $6.5MTotal savings of $14.1M. Only dead cap is $1.6M for Brown. None for Jefferson.
— Sal Capaccio 🏈 (@SalSports) March 10, 2021
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