With little money to spend this offseason, the Buffalo Bills have some difficult decisions on their pending free agents, and one source says they could fill at least one vacancy through trade.
According to Bleacher Report’s evaluation of each team’s trade requirements, the Bills will lose some key edge rushers to free agency this offseason. Leonard Floyd, A.J. Epenesa, and Shaq Lawson are all about to hit free agency, and the Bills are unlikely to have enough contract space to keep all three.
However, the Bills do have a lot of draft picks, which Bleacher Report advises they use to land a promising pass rusher.
Bills Make Trade with Familiar Team.
The article suggested that the Bills could recruit New York Giants edge rusher Azeez Ojulari, noting that they already know Brian Daboll from his time as Buffalo’s offensive coordinator.
“It’s a good thing the Bills already have Brian Daboll’s phone number, because it would be worth it to give him a call about Ojulari,” according to the article. “The Bills could lose Leonard Floyd, A.J. Epenesa, and Shaq Lawson from the edge.” They need to.
Find cost-effective solutions to replace all of those snaps and, hopefully, get into production.”
According to the source, the Bills might select Ojulari in the fourth round (No. 128 overall), one of the team’s ten total draft picks.
Ojulari had a great rookie season, totaling 49 tackles and 8 sacks, but his production dropped down. In the last two seasons, he earned only 30 total tackles and 8 sacks.
According to Bleacher Report, he might start fresh in Buffalo.
“Ojulari has struggled to stay on the field and develop beyond his promising rookie campaign in New York,” according to the source. “Perhaps the rebuilding Giants would be willing to move on from him for a pick now rather than waiting around to see if he’ll do something for them this season.”
Bills’ Defense Will Look Different in 2024.
The Bills will be in a tight spot this summer, since they are about $50 million over the cap in 2024. While the organization can employ contract restructures to free up space for free agency and draft pick signings, general manager Brandon Beane has stressed that there would be no major expenditure.
“We’re going to be shopping at some of the same stores we were last year,” Beane told SI.com. “We’re not going to Main Street in New York City or wherever those high-end stores are.”
The Bills may face some particularly difficult decisions on defense, as key players such as Floyd and safety Micah Hyde are set to enter free agency. Floyd has previously stated that he will not be offering a hometown discount for staying in Buffalo.
“For me, I’m always going where the money goes,” he told the Democrat & Chronicle. “I’d rather be here, but that’s how it is. It is a business. I’m going to travel wherever my agency believes we can get the greatest money from.”
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