By Nick Wojton / Billswire.usatoday.com
The Buffalo Bills still have another six weeks left in their 2018 campaign, but there’s a lot of optimism looking ahead to the summer of 2019.
The Bills (3-7) set themselves up to have a spending spree this upcoming offseason. The Bills currently have a massive dead cap hit of $57 million, according to OverTheCap.com. That all goes away and drops down to $2 million.
In total, that sets the Bills up to have $92 million in cap space. That’s the third-most in the NFL. With all that room and an owner who’s willing to spend, the Bills will make their fair share of moves this offseason. But the moves have to be the right ones.
With that, here’s an early look at 10 potential free agents the Bills could look to add this offseason:
RT Daryl Williams, Carolina Panthers
Williams, 26, could certainly be on the Bills’ radar with the connections the team has to the Panthers. Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane were in Carolina when Williams was drafted by the team. The duo have showed a willingness to make moves with players they’re familiar with from the Panthers, such as wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin and defensive tackle Star Lotulelei. Is Williams next in line? Pro Football Focus says Williams had a breakout season last year, earning a 78.0 overall grade, the third-best in the NFL for right tackles. For several offseasons, the Bills have attempted to replace Jordan Mills at their tackle position but have been unsuccessful.
WR Tyrell Williams, Los Angeles Chargers
Williams is a sure-handed wideout working with Phillip Rivers in LA. But the Chargers also have Mike Williams and Keenan Allen. Williams has big play ability and has turned things around as of late after starting the season slow. He could want to step out of Williams’ and Allen’s shadows for a bigger role elsewhere. PFF’s Sam Monson actually compared Williams and Benjamin recently. Essentially, Williams does what you wish Benjamin was better at, contested catches.
Williams currently has 26 grabs for 497 yards with five touchdowns this season.
WR Golden Tate, Philadelphia Eagles
While Tate recently was traded to the Eagles from the Lions, he wasn’t featured into their offensive game plan immediately \ which is a bit puzzling. Sure, they could be phasing him in slowly, but after trading a third-round pick for him, you’d like to get something out of him and fast since he’s going to be a free agent.
Tate’s not a young guy at 30, however, he’s efficient. Tate usually works out of the slot and he could be a sure-handed, short-route receiver for a young quarterback like Josh Allen that can use Tate’s elusiveness to pick up big yards. Tate’s acquisition would also likely push Zay Jones to be outside receiver while Tate’s in the slot.
WR Randall Cobb, Green Bay Packers
Cobb hasn’t been himself this season in Green Bay, mostly due to a hamstring injury that’s hampered him throughout the season. So far he only has 26 catches for 258 yards and just one touchdown. In addition, the Packers have had younger players step up and preform well in his absence such as Marquez Valdes-Scantling.
If the Bills looked at Cobb, he’d be another sure-handed receiver Allen could count on. According to PFF, Cobb has only 40 career drops on 677 targets. As an eight-year veteran, Cobb could also be a productive veteran presence to put ahead of Jones and potentially another rookie receiver. At only 5-foot-10, Cobb always seems to play bigger than he is, too.
TE Tyler Eifert, Cincinnati Bengals
Charles Clay hasn’t been overly productive in his Bills career, but he’s been a solid, consistent target for a team that doesn’t feature much of a passing game in recent seasons. This season, though? Clay’s just nowhere to be found. This offseason he has a $4.5 million dead cap hit if cut, which is very do-able for Buffalo if they’d like to bring someone else in.
Could that someone else be Eifert? Unfortunately for Eifert, the once promising player has had injuries derail his career. The 28-year-old had a strong 2015, making 52 catches for 615 yards with 13 touchdowns. He’s a fantastic red zone target, which the Bills don’t have many of. Because of his injury history, Eifert might be willing to take a short term deal from a team like Buffalo.
OG Rodger Saffold, Los Angeles Rams
The Bills’ offensive line has struggled, but the group still has a few promising young players such as Dion Dawkins and Wyatt Teller. Because of the youth, Buffalo could look to add a veteran in free agency such as Saffold.
While 30, Saffold still likely has a few solid years left in him and the nine-year vet has consistently received high marks from Pro Football Focus, who’ve graded him a 64.0 or higher in eight of his seasons. PFF also graded him their top left guard in the NFL last season. Saffold’s currently part of one of the best run-blocking lines in the NFL with LA, and that’s exactly the type of help Buffalo needs. The Bills rank dead last in PFF’s run blocking grades.
CB Morris Claiborne, New York Jets
The Bills’ defense the best in the business in the NFL, rated No. 1 overall heading into their bye week. But the unit does have one glaring need and it’s across from Tre’Davious White at the team’s No. 2 cornerback position. Whether it’s been Vontae Davis, Ryan Lewis or Phillip Gaines, the Bills have struggled to find someone to fill in there.
With Claiborne, the Bills would be going the Davis route, most likely. A short term and veteran signing. This time the player will hopefully not retire in the middle of a game, though. That’s unlikely to happen. Not only has Claiborne been relatively healthy over his two seasons with the Jets, he’s actually related to White, they refer to each other as “god brothers.” That could make for a pretty neat duo. Claiborne, 28, has 13 passes defended and two interceptions in 10 games this year.
OG Quinton Spain, Tennessee Titans
An interesting position to watch on the Bills offensive line is right guard. That’s where John Miller currently resides. Miller is among a small group. He wasn’t drafted by Beane or McDermott. The front office has gotten rid of plenty of former Doug Whaley picks. However, when Teller was inserted into the lineup, Vlad Ducasse, a McDermott and Beane guy, was taken out. Spain is coming off a down year in his career in 2017 where he only rated as the No. 27 overall guard in the NFL per PFF with a grade of 73.6.
Despite that, the Bills could be interested. He’s a strong run blocker which is exactly what Buffalo desperately needs, but he’s also gone more than 500 snaps in his career without allowing a sack.
CB Bradley Roby, Denver Broncos
Again, the Bills really need to upgrade their No. 2 cornerback position. Roby, is a talented athlete which made him a first-round pick of the Broncos. But Roby hasn’t exactly lived up to the hype. Roby did have 17 passes defender last year, but overall, he’s been an inconsistent performer. Perhaps putting him in a more talented secondary such as the one the Bills have will take the pressure off of the 26-year-old. Roby has seven passes defended in eight games this season with one interception.
WR Devin Funchess, Carolina Panthers
If the first big Carolina wide receiver didn’t work, might as well try another one, right? But seriously, that could be the case with the prior mentioned connections to the Panthers. Funchess is a red zone target at 6-foot-4, but, he does struggle with the same thing Benjamin does: his drops. Funchess is also hearing the footsteps of younger players like DJ Moore behind him. If Funchess joined the Bills, it’d likely be the end of Benjamin’s time with the organization. Funchess has 41 catches for 516 yards with three touchdowns this season. His best year was 2017 when he had 63 catches for 840 yards with eight scores.