Buffalo Bills could lose all 2017 captains

The Buffalo Bills made a bombshell move Friday trading quarterback Tyrod Taylor to the Cleveland Browns, per multiple reports. With Taylor gone, the Bills will need one new captain, and by the new league year they might need to replace all their team captains.

In 2017, the Bills on-field captains were Taylor, center Eric Wood, lilnebacker Lorenzo Alexander, defensive lineman Kyle Williams, and kicker Stephen Hauschka. All of them, aside form Hauschka, could potentially be on new teams or at home in 2018.

Taylor is the most obvious, since it’s clear he will be in a Browns uniform next season. Wood will also not be suiting up because of a career-ending injury thay caught up with him at the end of the 2017 campaign.

The speculation behind Williams potentially not being with the Bills primarily surrounds his age. The mainstay in the interior of the defensive line is turning 35 years old and no longer under contract. The Bills have made not been shy about saying to the media that they want Williams back, but does he want to play? If he does want to play, it’s tough seeing him signing with another team.

Alexander, who is also turning 35 this year, has had the best years of his career with the Bills and has made himself prominent in the Western New York community. However, the Bills front office has proved time and time again that no player is indispensable. Given his salary and drop in production from 2016 to 2017 the Bills could probably let him go and pick up somebody who could be of more value on the field for similar money. However, Alexander’s leadership has been vital to the team, especially in 2017.