The Buffalo Bills brought their roster down to the maximum 80-player limit after cutting two players and trading guard Cody Ford, but the team’s most difficult decisions will be made by Tuesday, August 30, when they have to cut the team down to just 53 men.
However, the Bills made a major move on Thursday, August 25 that didn’t help clear a spot on the roster, but instead cleared a large chunk of cap space. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero tweeted, “The #Bills restructured OT Dion Dawkins’ contract, converting most of his salary into a signing bonus to clear over $5.6 million in cap space, per source.”
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According to Spotrac.com, by restructuring Dawkins’ contract, Buffalo created about $5.6 million of cap space by converting just over $7 million of base salary into signing bonus and adding two void years. The Bills now have approximately $10 million of Top 51 cap space heading toward September.
While the Bills general manager Brandon Beane announced earlier this week that they’d be restructuring a contract or two to offset Ford’s trade, during which they absorbed a dead cap hit of $919,000 per SB Nation, it’s not immediately clear what they plan to do with the extra cash. But the immediate reaction on Twitter led to one conclusion, that the front office is paving the way to bring three-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. to Buffalo.
“F*** yeah beane, go get odell,” one fan tweeted, while another person wrote, “Makin room for @obj 😁😁😁😁.”
Von Miller chooses “What’s Next” for his song choice on his IG story with a picture of @obj in a #Bills uniform. 👀👀👀 #BillsMafia
Fueling speculation that Beckham could be headed to Buffalo, the timing of the Bills deciding to restructure Dawkins’ contract — just two days after superstar linebacker Von Miller tagged the free agent receiver on his Instagram stories. On August 23, the eight-time Pro Bowler shared a photo of the receiver in a Bills jersey with Drake’s song, “What’s Next?” playing in the background.
However, Spectrum News 1 Buffalo reporter Jon Scott isn’t fully buying into the hype. Scott tweeted on Thursday, “No, I don’t think this is to sign OBJ. Just like a year ago, BB likes to have space to work with heading into regular season so he CAN make moves if right one comes along. Could that be OBJ? Sure, but I don’t believe he was motivation to clear this cap space.”
Von Miller Has Been Campaigning Hard to Bring OBJ to Buffalo
While Beane could simply be clearing cap space in order to secure the 53-man roster and fill out the team’s practice squad, or to re-sign one of the numerous players on expiring contracts, such as Jordan Poyer or Dawson Knox, the move reignited the Beckham to Buffalo rumors.
Miller has been pushing hard over the past few weeks to recruit his former Los Angeles Rams teammate. While Miller took credit for getting Beckham to the Rams last season, on Thursday, August 11, he sent a strong message to Beane during an interview on The Pat McAfee Show about adding Beckham this offseason.
“I have an open locker right next to me. Odell is my guy,” Miller told McAfee. “You don’t have too many friends outside of football. Of course, I have colleagues that I know, but he’s one of my good buddies. I’ve been knowing him for a long time, over six, seven years. He’s trying to work himself to get back healthy, but the door is open for him to come to the Buffalo Bills.
“I know Odell loves to win. Everybody loves to win. We’ve got a winning team. Him really being here would just put the icing on the cake and put us over the top.”
“The door is open for @obj to come to the Buffalo Bills & him coming here would really put us over the top” ~@VonMiller
While Miller is looking to win a third Super Bowl with a third team, a feat that’s never been done before in the NFL, he told McAfee that Beckham is also gunning to snag another championship.
“I know he felt it, and he wants to get back there,” Miller said of the receiver wanting to hoist the Lombardi Trophy once more. “I felt it twice, and I want to get back there. This is the path to go. The Buffalo Bills have been on the brink for very long time. He could be that last little drop, just like myself, to get us over the top and go back to football heaven.”
Bleacher Report Urged Teams to Sign OBJ Now Rather Than Later
GettyOdell Beckham Jr. #3 of the Los Angeles Rams warms up before Super Bowl LVI against the Cincinnati Bengals at SoFi Stadium on February 13, 2022 in Inglewood, California.
Because the receiver sustained an ACL tear during the Rams’ Super Bowl victory and underwent surgery on February 22, he won’t be ready to go at the start of the season, but that doesn’t mean teams should wait to snatch him up.
Bleacher Report‘s Kristopher Knox wrote on Thursday, “Beckham may prefer not signing with a team until he’s fully healthy and clear-cut Super Bowl contenders have emerged. However, signing him now would ensure that he’s familiar with the offense and ready to contribute whenever he does get cleared. The latter would be less of a concern for the Rams since Beckham joined them in the middle of last season.
“NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported the Rams have “maintained interest” in him, although he’s also receiving interest from “several teams, contending teams.”
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Bills Rumors: Major Move Clears Roadblock to Sign 3-Time Pro Bowler