BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Buffalo Bills have work to do.
After a coaching search took center stage following their divisional round exit from the playoffs, the team’s focus is now on free agent decisions and the draft. It’s full steam ahead for president of football operations and general manager Brandon Beane with another offseason of big choices to make -- and for the first time since he was hired after the draft in 2017, he’ll be doing it with a new coaching staff.
While there will be plenty of consistency on offense with coach Joe Brady’s promotion, the defense is getting a shake-up with new coordinator Jim Leonhard. A majority of the Bills’ significant free agents are on defense -- defensive ends Joey Bosa and AJ Epenesa, safety Jordan Poyer, and linebackers Matt Milano and Shaq Thompson, among them -- leaving the door open to add new talent to that group. Some, like Thompson and Epenesa, are options to return under the right circumstances.
The Bills could make a number of contract restructuring moves to help get salary cap compliant and create room for new players; quarterback Josh Allen’s contract is an obvious candidate.
What moves would benefit the Bills most while building the best team around Allen? Let’s break down some of the big question marks, from free agency to fifth-year options to cuts.
Dawson Knox (TE)
The Bills can save almost $9.7 million in cap space by moving on from Knox this offseason under his current contract. Appearing recently on former teammate Mitch Morse’s podcast, Knox was uncertain of whether he’d be retained after speaking with Beane following the end of the season.
Knox has spent all seven years of his career with the organization and has been an important part of the offense and tight ends room, especially given Dalton Kincaid’s injuries. If the Bills move on, Jackson Hawes (going into his second season) would need to take on a bigger role and they would need to add another player.
Knox is a reliable receiving option for Allen and is someone the quarterback trusts. Along with being an important blocker, he also finished third on the team in receiving yards (417) and tied for second in receiving touchdowns (four).
Connor McGovern (C) andDavid Edwards (LG)
The Bills could lose both starting offensive linemen as they are set to hit free agency and could both be offered more than the team is willing to pay.
Beane did not rule out the possibility of bringing back one of the linemen in free agency. The team had success signing both three years ago as free agents on reasonable deals and could do the same with new players this offseason.
Consistency for Allen up front would certainly be valuable, but the Bills are also undergoing changes in that realm no matter what with offensive line coach Aaron Kromer retiring. Kromer was responsible for designing the team’s run game as well with tight ends coach Rob Boras now adding run game coordinator to his job title.
The Bills have some in-house options who would compete for offensive line openings, in addition to Beane bringing in free agents. Sedrick Van Pran-Granger (fifth-round pick in 2024) would be a key name to watch at center.
“We have to find answers in case we lose them, because these guys, you have to assume, when you get this close, you may lose them,” Beane said of McGovern and Edwards. “So, all it takes is one team to wow them with a number that you just can’t compete with. But I’m still hopeful that maybe we can get one back.”
Dalton Kincaid (TE)
The key decision regarding the tight end is whether to pick up his fifth-year option, which would become fully guaranteed, by the May 1 deadline.
Give that one big checkmark. Beane said the team is planning to do just that despite Kincaid, 26, being limited by a torn PCL in his left knee that he suffered in Week 10 of the 2024 season.
Kincaid reaggravated the injury and was hampered by it much of last season. He received opinions on whether surgery was the best route from multiple doctors, ultimately concluding he would spend the offseason strengthening everything around his knee to put less stress on the ligaments, according to Beane.
The tight end had a significant impact on the offense even when hurt. Kincaid’s injury led the team to manage his playing time; he played more than 40% of snaps just four times during the regular season.
“The only game [in 2025] he played the full number of snaps that we lost was New England,” Beane said. “... Our record with him was 9-2, and that counts the Miami game we lost that he didn’t finish. Our record when he did not play was 2-3. Average points, 30.1 when he started and played. Average points when he didn’t, 23, so [a] full touchdown more. So yes, I’m turning the fifth-year option in.”
Curtis Samuel (WR)
Since joining the Bills in 2024, Samuel has played in 20 regular-season games and caught 38 passes for 334 yards and two touchdowns, while rushing for 14 yards on five carries. He also returned nine kicks before Ray Davis took over the role, earning first-team All-Pro.
Samuel, 29, has dealt with a variety of injuries during his time in Buffalo and, overall, it just hasn’t come together. Brady is a significant advocate for the receiver, who also played for the coach with the Carolina Panthers (2020). The Bills can save over $6 million in cap space by cutting Samuel in the final year of his deal.
Joshua Palmer (WR)
Cutting Palmer doesn’t really help the Bills financially unless it’s a post-June 1 designation (which would result in $5.3 million in cap savings in 2026 and $9 million in 2027). In that case, the money wouldn’t be available until the summer, making this a less effective move to help this season, especially in a receivers room set for big changes.
A healthier Palmer, who finished the season on injured reserve because of a left ankle injury, also has the potential to build up his on-field relationship with Allen.
Keon Coleman (WR)
Two years are left on Coleman’s rookie deal. His time with the Bills has been up and down after he was selected 33rd overall in the 2024 draft. He has missed on-field time due to discipline related to off-field timeliness issues, moving down the depth chart over the course of the 2025 season. After owner Terry Pegula went out of his way to state that the former coaching staff pushed for the receiver to be drafted, Brady publicly supported Coleman.
Questions, however, remain: Coleman is working as if he’ll be back in 2026, but is the relationship there? Would there be interested teams that he could be traded to? Or does it make more sense to retain Coleman and see if he can take a step forward?
Taylor Rapp (S)
Rapp’s third season with the Bills ended after six games due to an injury to his right knee that initially took place during training camp. He had a medial meniscus repair. During the team’s locker room cleanout at the end of the season, Rapp, 28, said his rehab was going well.
The Bills can save just over $3 million by cutting the veteran in the final year of his contract, while taking on only $666,700 in dead money. With the shift in defensive strategy, that puts Rapp’s status more up in the air.
Taron Johnson (CB)
Where does Johnson, a Bill since the team selected him in the fourth round of the 2018 draft, fit in the new defense? Leonhard expressed his excitement for figuring out Johnson’s role in his scheme and his desire for the defense to meet what the players do well. But considering the positions the Bills need to add to and the change on defense, it’s worth exploring whether Johnson should be a cap casualty.
If the 29-year-old was designated a post-June 1 release, the Bills would save $8.7 million this year. It would only net just under $2 million in savings if he was cut formally before then, which would provide minimal relief and leave more holes in the defense. Johnson could be a valuable part of this group moving forward or part of a tricky offseason of players on the move.