Getty Bills tackle Ed Oliver #91 react against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field on November 24, 2022.
Despite Buffalo Bills fans seeing smoke on social media, there may be no fire to the rumors that Ed Oliver is trying to force his way out of Buffalo, an insider shared.
The defensive tackle sparked speculation last month with a series of cryptic posts that appeared to say goodbye to Bills fans, an oddity given that the team had already picked up Oliver’s fifth-year option to keep him on the roster through the 2023 season. Oliver made other posts hinting that he wanted the team to commit to a long-term deal, but hasn’t spoken directly about his contract situation.
Now insider Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic is breaking down the rumors, saying he would be “quite surprised” if the Bills ended up moving on from Oliver this offseason.
Insider Warns Against Social Media Speculation
Buscaglia noted that Oliver remains an important part of the Bills’ plans for their defense, warning fans not to “scout players on their social media accounts and guess what they mean on a vague post.”
With the Bills already losing Pro Bowl linebacker Tremaine Edmunds in free agency and edge rusher Von Miller potentially missing time as he recovers from an ACL tear, it might be too much for them to have to replace Oliver as well, Buscaglia added.
“Oliver is one of their key defensive line pieces in trying to get to the Super Bowl this year, and operating without him would be a massive downgrade,” Buscaglia wrote. “They also already have to make up for not having Tremaine Edmunds and potentially Von Miller for some of the season. It wouldn’t make sense for them to add another thing to overcome during a critical year.”
The 2019 first-round pick saw a drop in production last season as he dealt with the lingering effects of a high-ankle sprain. Oliver appeared in 13 games, finishing with 34 tackles and 2.5 sacks with 14 quarterback hits.
Ed Oliver Hints at New Contract From Bills
Oliver has dropped hints that he wants to stay with the team beyond next season, writing in a since-deleted Instagram post, “Show Me The Money or Ion Wanna Talk!!!”
#Bills‘ Ed Oliver in deleted social media post: ‘Show Me The Money or Ion Wanna Talk!!!’ t.co/koMWdoygVV via @TheBuffaloNews
As the Buffalo News noted, the post seemed to hint at a desire for a contract extension, though that may not be the most likely outcome right now.
“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.”
Interesting now deleted Instagram story from Ed Oliver…
But Buscaglia believes Oliver could still be in the team’s long-term plans and a contract extension may be on the way.
“Over the last two offseasons, Beane has also alluded to wanting to keep Oliver past the 2023 season, and I wouldn’t expect that to change between now and the draft,” he wrote.