Ed Oliver and Matt Milano
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Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Ed Oliver and linebacker Matt Milano.
The Buffalo Bills are entering a crucial offseason after parting ways with head coach Sean McDermott in January and promoting offensive coordinator Joe Brady to the head coach role.
One of the first moves Brady made after the Bills hired him as head coach was to name Jim Leonhard defensive coordinator.
Bills Are Expected To Keep Ed Oliver
Leonhard is going to have his hands full trying to reshape Buffalo’s defense, but he may have received some promising news about a potential player for the Bills.
ESPN’s Dan Grazianowrote on Sunday that he doesn’t believe the Bills will let defensive tackle Ed Oliver go this offseason.
“They’ll also look for guys who fit new coordinator Jim Leonhard’s defense, but they believe several of the young defensive players they’ve drafted the past few years are versatile enough that they won’t have to make major personnel changes,” Graziano wrote. “There has been speculation that defensive tackle Ed Oliver could be available in trade, but I am told that the Bills have no interest in moving him and that they expect him to be on the team in 2026.”
The Bills selected Oliver in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft, and he has shown promise throughout much of his career. However, this past season was challenging for him, as he was able to participate in only three games due to several injuries.
Oliver is scheduled to have a cap hit of $23.9 million this season on his four-year, $68 million contract he signed in 2023. However, if the Bills decide to move on from him, they would free up $14 million by designating him as a post-June 1 cut.
It would likely be wise for the Bills to retain him for at least one more season and evaluate his performance in the new defensive scheme. Bills defensive end Michael Hoecht believes that Oliver has the potential tobecome comparable to howAaron Donald of the Los Angeles Rams played.
“I think the Aaron Donald comparison is great because the Super Bowl year, when you paired him out there with Von Miller, Greg Gaines, A’Shawn Robinson, all of a sudden, you have extra guys that people have to worry about, and you have Ed Oliver one-on-one with a guard,” Hoecht said on “Centered On Buffalo Podcast,” via Owen Crisafulli.
Buffalo Already Has a Few Big-Time Free Agents
The Bills will be dealing with several big-name free agents who are set to hit the open market, including guard David Edwards and center Connor McGovern. They likely want to avoid creating another issue, like cutting Oliver.
There is some good news that the Bills are trying to bring back at least one of Edwards or McGovern.
“Bills left guard David Edwards and center Connor McGovern are free agents. Buffalo would be happy to re-sign one of them, with a bunch of teams looking for interior O-line help, but the Bills have cap issues and could look to replace both,” Graziano added.
It will be interesting to see how the Bills handle the offseason, and it’s promising that Oliver will stay in Buffalo for another season.