After the Buffalo Bills re-signed the majority of their pending free agents, it became a long shot that the team would be in line for a compensatory pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. With all of their recent activity, it’s still unlikely, though not impossible, that the team will receive a comp pick.
Compensatory picks are awarded to teams with a net loss of free agents during the window beginning at the start of the league years and ending in early May. Players signed after that window don’t count in that formula since they aren’t sought-after. The free agents can’t be released; they have to be on expiring contracts.
With that in mind, here are the players the Bills lost on expiring contracts through the end of March:
- KR Andre Roberts
- TE Tyler Kroft
- OT Ty Nsekhe
- LB Del’Shawn Phillips
- OG Brian Winters
Five players lost for the Bills, so Buffalo would have to have fewer than that signed. With only one over a $2 million yearly average on his new contract (Roberts), the compensation would be low anyway. John Brown and Quinton Jefferson don’t count since they were released.
Here are the qualifying Bills signings:
- QB Mitchell Trubisky
- P Matt Haack
- TE Jacob Hollister
- RB Matt Breida
- DE Efe Obada
- LB Tyrell Adams
Six players gained wipes out the five players lost by the Bills. Emmanuel Sanders and Bobby Hart were released and Brandon Powell doesn’t count because he was an untendered Restricted Free Agent. Marquel Lee wasn’t on a roster in 2020.
There is hope, if you’re someone campaigning for those picks. Buffalo has some free agents who could sign large enough deals to impact the equation. DE Trent Murphy, CB Josh Norman, QB Matt Barkley, RB T.J. Yeldon, and S Dean Marlowe all played on expiring contracts that would count in the formula. There are no reports on their status as of this writing.