As we told you in May, the Buffalo Bills still have some work to do to be compliant with the NFL’s salary cap by the time the regular season rolls around. They are currently all good, but in the offseason, only the top 51 contracts count. When the regular season starts, all the player on the 53-man roster plus the players on injured reserve all count.
According to Sal Capaccio of WGR 550, the Bills have just under $5 million in cap space as camp opens, so once you add the final two contracts those figures could push the Bills to the brink with no room to sign a vet replacement for an injured player. General manager Brandon Beane certainly won’t be comfortable with that situation.
A few options for helping out the cap space are contract extensions for Dawson Knox or Jordan Poyer, though neither of those seem imminent. Two easier options would be to restructure the contracts for veterans Tre’Davious White and Dion Dawkins. Both would save multiple millions of dollars on Buffalo’s cap and both are going to be around for the foreseeable future.
Here’s what we wrote in May:
Tre’Davious White ($6.7 million savings)
For White, who has four years left on his contract, they wouldn’t have to add a void year for 2026 but they could. The number I gave above represents just a straight restructure, and spreads out more than $8 million in salary over the next four seasons. If they wanted to, the void year would spread it out over five seasons and give them even more margin.
Dion Dawkins ($4.7 million savings)
Their left tackle has been steady (outside of some COVID-related hiccups) so they expect to have him long-term. Taking almost $7 million in salary and stretching it out over the final three years of his deal would clear almost $5 million in cap space. Adding void years would clear even more. Dawkins will be 30 in the final year of his current contract, so void years and a potential extension down the line are certainly in play.
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