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Ed Oliver apparently wants the Buffalo Bills to show him the money.
The team’s starting defensive tackle took to Instagram to deliver a cryptic message that appeared to be a shot at the team, declaring “Show Me The Money or Ion Wanna Talk!!!” Oliver has the potential to be headed for a big payday after the upcoming season, as the Bills picked up his fifth-year option for 2023 and owe him $10.753 million before he heads either to free agency or a new contract extension.
As the Buffalo News noted, Oliver’s since-deleted post could hint at an upcoming contract extension — though that may not be the most likely outcome for the 2019 first-round pick.
Ed Oliver’s Production Dropped This Season
As the Buffalo News report noted, Oliver had something of a disappointing season in 2022 as he saw production drop while dealing with a high-ankle sprain. He appeared in 13 games, finishing with 34 tackles, 2.5 sacks and 14 quarterback hits.
The Bills struggled to generate pressure on opposing quarterbacks, especially later in the season as All-Pro edge rusher Von Miller suffered a season-ending ACL tear. The Buffalo News noted that the Bills may not be keen to give a big raise and a long-term contract to Oliver after the uneven campaign.
“Right now, Oliver’s cap number ranks as the eighth highest on the Bills’ 2023 salary cap,” the report noted. “The only way for the Bills to lower that number would be to sign Oliver to an extension, which would spread the dollars out over a longer period of time – but is that something General Manager Brandon Beane really wants to do? Have the Bills seen enough from Oliver in four full years to think he’s ready to take a big step in his career? That seems hard to imagine.”
Bills Could Put Ed Oliver on the Trade Block
Jay Skurski of the Buffalo News suggested another potential outcome for Oliver this offseason — a trade. He noted that Oliver has failed to become the disruptive player the Bills hoped he would be in taking him with the No. 9 overall pick in 2019, showing flashes of strong play but at other times disappearing. Skurski pointed to this year’s playoff loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, when he had just one assisted tackle and two pressures on quarterback Joe Burrow.
While Oliver may want the Bills to show him the money — as his Instagram post seemed to imply — Skurski speculated that the Bills may instead be looking for a way out.
“If Beane decides Oliver isn’t worth the money he’s scheduled to be paid, his only way out of the contract is via a trade,” Skurski wrote. “That comes with its own set of problems. For starters, the Bills wouldn’t exactly be dealing from a position of strength after their GM admitted the team expects more from Oliver. Of course, it only takes one of the 31 other GMs to see the flashes from Oliver and convince himself that his team’s coaching staff has the key to unlocking Oliver’s consistency. Even if that were to happen, both sides would need to agree on the proper compensation.”