The 2016 NFL Draft is only just in the rearview mirror for the Buffalo Bills, but with the current CBA eliminating the drama of signing rookies to their first pro contracts, the heavy lifting on the accounting front this summer will revolve around three of the team's starters.
Bills training camp is now less than three months away, and while there is no shortage of intriguing story lines surrounding the team heading into that event, few are as compelling as the contract statuses of three of their most recognizable starters. Whether or not the Bills can reach contract extensions with any or all of those three players before camp will be a hot discussion topic for the foreseeable future.
1. OT Cordy Glenn
Within a week of the Bills using the franchise tag, Glenn had signed his one-year, $13.706 million tender. Most have perceived that as a good-faith moment between the Bills and Glenn's representation as they work toward the common goal of a long-term contract extension. Glenn's new deal is the most likely of the three to be completed by the time training camp rolls around in late July. Here's our contract projection for Glenn from back in February.
2. CB Stephon Gilmore
Gilmore is currently scheduled to play the 2016 season on the fifth-year contract option that the team exercised on him this time last year; if no alteration to his contract is made, he'll make $11.082 million this season. Striking a deal with the 26-year-old corner before the season may prove a bit more difficult after seeing Janoris Jenkins and Josh Norman sign massive deals this offseason, but here's our contract projection for Gilmore from back in February, anyway.
3. QB Tyrod Taylor
All along - and much to the chagrin of Taylor's very talkative agent - the Bills have seemed content to let their starting quarterback play out the final year of his deal as one of the lowest-paid starters in the league. They have not exhibited any urgency to re-sign Taylor despite a Pro Bowl appearance, largely because they want to see him play well again before committing to him long-term. It's hard to find fault with that point of view, even if Taylor's price tag will ultimately go up the longer they wait if he plays well. Our last contract projection for Taylor came back in December, just before the regular season concluded.
Other than those three names, the Bills' list of players with contracts expiring after the 2016 season, while lengthy, is not nearly as significant as in years past. Only a handful of the 28 players are expected to have significant roles with the team this fall, and not all of the 28 will make the roster.
- QB EJ Manuel
- RB Mike Gillislee
- WR Robert Woods
- WR Greg Salas
- WR Marquise Goodwin
- WR Leonard Hankerson
- TE Jim Dray
- TE Chris Gragg
- OT Jordan Mills
- OG Ryan Groy
- C Fernando Velasco
- DT Corbin Bryant
- DT T.J. Barnes
- ER IK Enemkpali
- ER Lorenzo Alexander
- ER Lavar Edwards
- LB Manny Lawson
- LB Zach Brown
- LB Kevin Reddick
- CB Mario Butler
- CB Sterling Moore
- CB Corey White
- S Robert Blanton
- S Duke Williams
- S Colt Anderson
- S Jonathan Meeks
- K Jordan Gay
- P Colton Schmidt