clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

2021 Worst Buffalo Bills values: No. 9—LB Tyler Matakevich

He provided value, sure, but not that much

The Buffalo Bills value special teams, but the highest-paid player on special teams for them in 2021 wasn’t a kicker, holder, returner, or even a punter. Tyler Matakevich was a special teams captain but still comes in ninth on our list of worst values.

In the past when we’ve done our listing, we used cap hit to reflect value, but with the cap shenanigans employed by general manager Brandon Beane recently and the improvement of the databases, we’ve switched to yearly cash payments as our metric.

Matakevich collected $3.35 million in cash in 2021, good for 54th among all linebackers in the NFL. On the Bills, he was the 20th-highest paid player and the third-highest paid linebacker.

That’s starter’s money even though he played just 4% of the team’s defensive snaps. He did play nearly 80% of the special teams snaps—the most on the team by a wide margin.

His cash number drops a bit in 2022, as he signed an extension in 2021 and received some signing bonus money. His $2.5 million in cash will be the lowest of his three years in Buffalo if he doesn’t sign another deal.

Buffalo Bills 2021 Worst Values

  1. Stay tuned
  2. Stay Tuned
  3. Stay Tuned
  4. Stay Tuned
  5. Stay Tuned
  6. Stay Tuned
  7. Stay Tuned
  8. Stay Tuned
  9. LB Tyler Matakevich
  10. DE Boogie Basham

Buffalo Bills 2021 Best Values

  1. QB Josh Allen
  2. LB Tremaine Edmunds
  3. TE Dawson Knox
  4. WR Gabe Davis
  5. CB Levi Wallace
  6. DT Ed Oliver
  7. DT Harrison Phillips
  8. S Jordan Poyer
  9. OT Spencer Brown
  10. RB Devin Singletary

Honorable Mentions