Getty Josh Allen #17 of the Buffalo Bills warms up prior to a game against the New York Jets at Highmark Stadium on December 11, 2022 in Orchard Park, New York.
The Buffalo Bills will need to do some financial maneuvering this offseason to get under the salary cap and find room to sign draft picks and free agents, and one insider believes quarterback Josh Allen could be first in line to provide some help.
Allen is set to have a cap hit of $39.7 million in the upcoming season, a major jump from his $16.3 million hit last season. As David De Cristofaro of USA Today’s Bills Wire noted, Allen’s cap hit would be the largest individual part of the team’s total cap hit, making up 17.5%.
But Allen could give the Bills some flexibility with a restructured deal, which De Cristofaro believes could be coming.
Changes Potentially Coming for Josh Allen’s Contract
As De Cristofaro noted, there could be a few easy moves for Bills general manager Brandon Beane to bring some immediate cap relief, starting with Allen’s contract.
“For context, Allen has a 2023 base salary of $27.5 million in 2023, and if Beane were to convert that number down to the veteran minimum and spread the difference ($21.1 million) out over his remaining contract as a signing bonus, just like that the Bills would be under the cap,” he wrote.
The USA Today writer identified Allen as a likely candidate because it would allow him to show leadership and a willlingness to do his part to help the franchise build a winning roster around him.
Snow.
Primetime.
And all the Josh Allen hurdles.
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“It would be up to the QB and GM, and surely other vets to restructure as well, but the cards are in Allen’s hands as far as leading by example contract-wise as well as in helping to determine what money is available to retain or add talent,” he wrote.
De Cristofaro noted that there are some other contracts the Bills could tweak to find more cap space, including recent deals for wide receiver Stefon Diggs and edge rusher Von Miller.
Bills Have Some Key Offseason Needs
Though the Bills won the AFC East title and advanced to at least the divisional round for the third consecutive season, analysts believe there are some important and potentially expensive issues that the team will need to address this offseason.
Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox noted that the Bills have some key players headed to free agency and will have to replace, including safety Jordan Poyer, linebacker Tremaine Edmunds and defensive end Shaq Lawson. The Bills would need to invest significant money into keeping some or all of them, and then would need to turn to free agency to make up for the losses of others.
That could also mean making some cuts, Knox wrote.
“The problem rests with Buffalo’s cap space, or lack thereof. The Bills are projected to be $5.5 million over the salary cap, which will make retaining and adding players quite difficult,” Knox wrote.
Knox pegged a player brought in at last year’s trade deadline as a potential cap casualty.
“The Bills are short on viable cap-cut candidates, so general manager Brandon Beane may have to look at restructuring a few contracts to clear space,” he wrote. “One cut candidate is running back and returner Nyheim Hines, who was acquired during the season in a trade with the Indianapolis Colts.”