2019 salary cap: What it would cost the Buffalo Bills to cut Star Lotulelei

With Kyle Williams riding off into the sunset, the Buffalo Bills are left with Star Lotulelei to lead the way for the interior of the defensive line. The 29-year old is entering the second year of his five-year, $50 million deal—making him the highest-paid player on the roster for 2019 and the remaining three years after that.

Lotulelei isn't going to get after the quarterback very often and he isn't going to make a lot of plays that get him noticed, but he does his job of letting the linebackers run free and he does it well.

Without Lotulelei on the roster, the Bills wouldn't have a strong presence on the interior defensive line and they wouldn't save any money by cutting him outright either. If the Bills decided to move on from Lotulelei, they'd actually add money to their salary cap in 2019. With $2 million of his 2019 salary already guaranteed and the departure of Williams, coupled with the late-season fall off of rookie Harrison Phillips, Lotulelei isn’t going anywhere.

Numbers brought to you via Spotrac:

2019 cap hit: $11.5 million
Salary due: $7.15 million ($2 million guaranteed)
Roster bonus: $1 million
Workout bonus: $250,000
Per game active bonus: $500,000 ($31,250 per game)

Dead money if cut: $12.4 million
Cap addition in 2018 if cut: $900,000