After weeks of shuffling lineups, the Buffalo Bills found a winning offensive line combination to end the season.
Despite the strong end to the season — and a major boost in the running game — one insider suggests that the Bills could still look to upgrade the unit in the offseason, advising the team to target a former All-Pro interior lineman from the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Bills will have some tough decisions to make this coming offseason, with little cap space and a number of veteran players headed to unrestricted free agency. General manager Brandon Beane has suggested that the team won’t be making many splashy moves, but Nick Wojton of USA Today’s Bills Wire believes there is a reasonable acquisition within reach that could give the offense a major boost.
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Bills Could Pursue Jaguars Guard
In an AFC East roundup published by the USA Today’s Jets Wire, Wojton pointed to Jacksonville guard Andrew Norwell as a potential free-agent target for the Bills. As Wojton noted, the Bills are set at tackle with Dion Dawkins and Spencer Brown, but could use more help inside and the former All-Pro Norwell could add some reliable play.
“When you have quarterback Josh Allen, you throw the ball a ton,” he wrote. “Norwell, 30, just finished his ninth NFL season. In all of them, Pro Football Focus has graded him a 70.0 or high every single season as a pass blocker. And as always, the connection.”
The Jags have a lot of needs heading into 2022 and one of them could be patched up by retaining Andrew Norwell if they want.
Norwell could have another advantage, Wojton added — his connection to the Carolina Panthers, a favorite pipeline for Beane and head coach Sean McDermott.
“He originally entered the NFL with the Panthers in 2014 as a UDFA when Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane were in Carolina,” Norwell wrote. “Those two love going down their former-Panther well.”
Bills Still Close
The Bills will likely have little room to make any big moves. Though the salary cap is projected to increase to $208.2 million, the Bills would still be only about $3 million under the cap. As Beane said, that means any big acquisitions are out of the question for this year.
“It’s not going to be perfect for us, but it’s going to be better,” Beane said. “We’ll have to make some moves, but I wouldn’t see us being big spenders or anything like that. But we’ll definitely look to fill some spots from the outside as well as retain some of our guys.”
Though the Bills have seen two consecutive seasons end in heartbreaking fashion to the Kansas City Chiefs, many insiders believe they are still close to Super Bowl contention and may not need many big moves. NFL Network analyst and former NFL fullback Michael Robinson said the Bills are almost there, and the overtime loss to the Chiefs could actually help in the long run.
GM Brandon Beane: I’m sick to my stomach that we lost. I am so appreciative to have the support of Bills Mafia all year long, I want to hug all of you. We’re all hurting and I’m sorry we couldn’t get it done.
“But one positive that I can take from this past weekend’s game is the experience and the institutional knowledge that Josh Allen gained in that game, that Sean McDermott gained in that game,” he said. “That all the core pieces of this franchise and this organization gained in that game is going to come back in later years and it’s going to help this team win a championship.”
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Bills Advised to Snag All-Pro Jaguars Guard in Free Agency