Josh Allen, quarterback, is expected to cost the Bills $22 million this offseason.
General manager Brandon Beane issued a warning over the upcoming offseason to the Buffalo Bills a few days after the team’s season came to an end due to a playoff defeat to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Beane issued the same warning as he did the previous season: the team would not have the cap space to make any big signings and would instead have to work around the margins to strategically add low-cost players.
According to SI.com, Beane stated, “We’re going to be shopping at some of the same stores we were shopping at last year.” “We’re not going to those upscale stores on Main Street in New York City.”
However, the Bills can make some adjustments to get around their strict salary ceiling, and according to one insider, the first step in that process needs to be a $22-million trade for quarterback Josh Allen.
Bills Have No Option But to Restructure Josh Allen
The Bills have several options to get out of their cap crisis, including trades, contract cuts, and restructurings, as The Athletic’s Joe Buscaglia detailed. The Bills will have the option to make most of the changes, he said, but Allen’s deal restructure will be “involuntary” because the team needs the significant cost savings that his contract would provide.
Buscaglia stated, “Allen is signed for the next five seasons, has a $47.1 million cap hit, and the Bills likely intend to keep him in the organization for the duration of the contract.” “There are no plans to part ways with him anytime soon, therefore it’s a deal that should be targeted for restructuring. The Bills may almost cut the cap gap in half by converting all of his $23.5 million basic salary—aside from the veteran minimum—along with his $6 million roster bonus into a prorated signing bonus.
The Bills would save more than $22 million with the move, according to Buscaglia, which is the biggest possible savings they could discover with a single offseason move. Over the past two years, the Bills have reworked other contracts, and many had anticipated Allen’s arrival soon.
Not expecting Bills to take action about underperforming stars
Buscaglia went on to say that the Bills are probably going to steer clear of two possible transactions that could result in significant cap savings. He mentioned that the contracts of wide receiver Stefon Diggs and edge rusher Von Miller might be reworked, but he also said the Bills would retain their freedom to deal with Diggs in 2025.
Buscaglia continued, “Keeping Miller on the roster for an extended amount of time might also prolong their pain.”
Like Diggs, renegotiating Miller’s contract could free up almost $12 million in cap space this season, but the Bills would have to pay a huge salary for a player who will be 36 in 2025 for an additional year—and that doesn’t even account for his lackluster play this past season—if they did so. Miller will probably return to the Bills in 2024 as a result of a huge cap hit, a large dead cap, and a vacant defensive end position. However, if the Bills maintain Miller’s contract in place, they may save $8.5 million on the 2025 salary ceiling in the offseason.
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