Editor’s note: This is the second in a series examining the Buffalo Bills’ free agent possibilities at key positions. Today’s installment looks at wide receivers.
The Buffalo Bills’ interest in adding another impact player at wide receiver this offseason is indisputable.
The Bills acknowledged the need in October when they made a deal near the trade deadline to acquire Amari Cooper.
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Cooper’s presence helped, but not as much as hoped, partly because he played through a fractured wrist injury. Now, Cooper is a free agent and presumably not coming back to the Bills because he is about to turn 31 and will be costly in free agency.
Veteran Mack Hollins also is set to become a free agent, and he will be relatively inexpensive on the market if the Bills want to bring him back.
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Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane has plenty of work to do – not only to make his team cap-compliant, but to provide enough space to conduct offseason business, writes Jay Skurski.
The question is: How big a move do the Bills need to make to keep the offense rolling?
“We averaged over 30, you know what I’m saying?” general manager Brandon Beane said last week at the NFL scouting combine.
Indeed, the Bills ranked second in scoring in the NFL, despite Cooper catching only 20 passes in eight games. Defense is more of a priority than receiver. But the opportunity for a big addition exists.
Here is a look at wide receivers scheduled to be available in free agency:
Trade market: The biggest name potentially available is Seattle’s DK Metcalf, 27, who has asked the Seahawks for a trade. The two-time Pro Bowler wants to go to a contender. At 6-foot-3 and with 6,300 yards in six seasons, he is an elite talent who would make the Bills’ offense more potent than ever in the Josh Allen era. The trade cost may not be prohibitive, probably a a second- or third-round pick. The Bills traded Stefon Diggs just a year ago for a second-rounder.
Seahawks DK Metcalf
Seahawks receiver DK Metcalf, making a big catch against the Bills in 2020, is on the trade market and would be a big addition to the Buffalo offense. Harry Scull Jr., Buffalo News
Buffalo Bills GM for a Day, Part 2: What to do with in-house free agents
Of the 22 players who started on offense or defense for the Bills in the AFC championship game against the Chiefs, only three of them – wide receiver Mack Hollins, safety Damar Hamlin and cornerback Rasul Douglas – are scheduled to become unrestricted free agents next week.
Metcalf is entering the final year of his contract and would have to be given a giant extension, likely in the $25 million to $28 million a year range. The Bills could swing it, but it would restrict the amount of spending they might want to do on defense in the next two years. Metcalf has a base salary of $18 million the Bills would assume and could spread out, so the cap hit for 2025 would not be exorbitant.
Top of the heap: The Jets released Davante Adams, and his market value is about $14 million a year, according to Spotrac. Adams had 85 catches in the Jets’ dysfunctional offense last season, but is 32, an age where receivers start to lose production.
Names to know: Most of the big names likely aren’t on the Bills’ radar, including Chris Godwin, Cooper, Diggs and DeAndre Hopkins. Jacksonville reportedly will release Christian Kirk, but he is mostly a slot receiver, which the Bills do not need. Kansas City’s Marquise Brown, who missed 15 games in 2024 with a shoulder injury, has the speed element the Bills could use. His market value is pegged at $8 million a year, and he likely will have numerous suitors. So will the Giants’ Darius Slayton, who has 4.39 speed and has toiled for six years under awful quarterbacking in New York. He’s a downfield threat, and he’s also a Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee. His market value is $15.8 million, per Spotrac.
Under the radar: There are a few less expensive options who might be attractive to the Bills. They include the Chargers’ Joshua Palmer and Washington’s Dyami Brown. Palmer isn’t a burner, but he’s a good route runner who has averaged 15.3 yards a catch the past two years. Brown has 4.44 speed and caught 30 passes last season, including 11 of 20-plus yards.
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