Ed Oliver
Getty
Sean McDermott provided an encouraging injury update on Ed Oliver ahead of the Bills' Week 6 action
The NFL free agency period is nearing the three-week mark, and many teams, including the Buffalo Bills, have been throwing around bags of cash to sign players. As teams invest in new talent, they’re reshaping the market across various positions, which means it’s time to examine a few players already under contract. We need to consider whether their salaries remain viable or have become unfeasible given the large sums teams have been dishing out this offseason.
Ed Oliver Named Bills’ Most Overpaid Player
Buffalo has a few players on its roster who appear to be a bit overpaid. According to Brad Gagnon from Bleacher Report, defensive tackle Ed Oliverstands out as the most overcompensated player on the team.
“It was a toss-up between Oliver and Greg Rousseau, neither of whom has lived up to hefty contracts,” Gagnon wrote on Friday. “Oliver is a 28-year-old zero-time Pro Bowler who missed almost the entire 2025 season but has a $17 million average annual value, while Rousseau is a good-not-great edge who has never registered more than eight sacks in his five NFL seasons but makes $20 million a year.”
The Bills selected Oliver in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft, and he quickly made his mark, appearing in 92 games over his first six seasons. Unfortunately, last season he was plagued by injuries, suffering from an ankle issue, a bicep injury, and meniscus problems, which limited him to just three games.
The concerns about Oliver stem from his turning 29 this year, which raises the possibility that he might be entering the latter stages of his career. Furthermore, his history of injuries could signal potential challenges ahead.
Buffalo Reestructure Oliver’s Contract For 2026
Buffalo reached an agreement in June 2023 for a four-year, $68 million extension with Oliver. While the contract appeared promising at the time, it seems likely to become a concern over the next two seasons.
Despite potential concerns regarding Oliver in the future, the Bills have opted not to let him go this offseason. Instead,they chose to restructure his contract.
“Buffalo restructured defensive tackle Ed Oliver’s contract, a move expected to free about $10.3 million in 2026 salary cap space, according to multiple reports on Saturday,” Ryan Miller from the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle wrote on March. 8
“Oliver previously carried a cap hit of about $24 million in 2026. The restructure converts a large portion of his base salary into a signing bonus and spreads the cap charges into future seasons, lowering his 2026 cap figure to roughly $13.6 million,according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC2. Buffalo also added two void years to the deal.”
It’s going to be interesting to see how Oliver performs this season, and not just because he missed most of last year. The Bills have a new defensive coordinator in Jim Leonhard, and nobody knows how he’ll implement his potential 3-4 scheme.
Oliver needs to get used to the new scheme, and hopefully, he can stay healthy while learning the new defense and have an impressive season helping the Bills possibly make a Super Bowl run.