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The Buffalo Bills do not have a lot of cap space to be big spenders this offseason, but they could deliver a huge blow to the Kansas City Chiefs by signing away Patrick Mahomes’ secret weapon, wide receiver Byron Pringle.
Pringle, a third-year wideout who went undrafted out of Kansas State, is coming off a complete breakout season. After registering career-highs in catches (42), yards (568), and touchdowns (5) during the regular season, the 28-year-old is now a free agent.
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Prior to the 2021 NFL season, the 6-foot-1 receiver was primarily a depth piece, mostly used just for special teams’ snaps. During the 2019 and 2020 seasons combined, Pringle recorded just 25 catches for 330 yards and two touchdowns.
Pringle, who signed a one-year, $2.13 million contract with the Cheifs last season, will be due a for pay bump in 2022, but it won’t be anything excessive. According to Sportrac.com, his market value sits at $3.2 million.
Adding Pringle would be an affordable gamble for the Bills. Heading into the 2022 NFL season, the bulk of Buffalo’s receivers are now free agents, mostly veterans requiring higher paydays that they can’t afford to pay.
Buffalo could easily add Pringle if the Bills don’t re-sign Emmanuel Sanders, who turns 35 in March and signed a one-year, $6 million contract last season, or part ways with Cole Beasley, 33, who’s due $7.6 million in the final year of his contract. The Bills’ Isaiah McKenzie and Jake Kumerow are also hitting free agency.
Pringle Would Make a Good Fit Alongside Diggs, Davis & Knox
While Bills general manager Brandon Beane and head coach Sean McDermott must decide which players become cap casualties, breakout star Gabriel Davis, Stefon Diggs, and tight end Dawson Knox, remain the core group of the team’s receiver pool. Adding Pringle to the mix would be a huge boost to the Bills’ offense.
Democrat & Chronicle‘s Sal Maiorana linked Pringle to the Bills on February 8, noting that he fills Beane’s desire to find a quick, speedy receiver. Beane said during his end-of-season press conference, “I mean, you’d love to have a guy that you can get the ball to and he can turn a 5-yard pass into a 60-yard touchdown. You can never have enough of that.”
“Byron Pringle of the Chiefs worked more in the slot this season than he ever had and finished with 42 catches for 568 yards and five TDs with a RAC [Run After Catch Yards] of 4.5,” Maiorana reported.
The Bills Ranked Dead Last in Return After Catch Yards
While the Bills had one of the most explosive offenses in the entire NFL under superstar quarterback Josh Allen, those offensive points, as Beane noted in his presser, are not coming from Run After Catch Yards.
Maiorana noted, “One area where the Bills need to be better is in run after catch yards. They finished dead last in the league at just 4.3 RAC yards per reception. By comparison, the 49ers were No. 1 in the league at 6.7 RAC per reception, the AFC champion Bengals were at 6.4, and the team that eliminated the Bills, the Chiefs, were at 6.2. In the playoff game, the Chiefs had 221 RAC yards compared to Buffalo’s 131.”
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