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Alaina GetzenbergESPN
BUFFALO, N.Y. — With the start of the league year less than two days away, the Buffalo Bills have made some big moves to become cap compliant, restructuring the contracts of quarterback Josh Allen and pass rusher Von Miller to create approximately $32 million in cap space, a source told ESPN’s Field Yates.
The Bills entered Monday, the first day of the negotiating period, more than $19 million over the cap for 2023 (the Bills have an adjusted cap of about $227 million). Allen and Miller’s deals were the most obvious for the team to restructure to help the team become cap compliant and create room to work with. Allen’s extension signed in 2021 saw its first major jump in 2023 with the quarterback set to account for $39.8 million against the cap this year with $27.5 million in base salary.
“[Allen’s cap hit is] one of the bigger numbers that you can create space,” Beane said at the NFL Scouting Combine. “So, we would definitely have to strongly consider [restructuring his deal]. We’ve got kind of our A list and our B list of how we do it.”
In 2023, Miller had a base salary of $1.3 million and a cap hit of $18.6 million, third highest on the team and only behind wide receiver Stefon Diggs. Restructuring the two large cap hits made sense for the Bills as they are committed to Allen for the long haul, so moving his money down the road is not as big of a deal, and the team is already committed to the pass rusher coming off major ACL surgery through at least 2024 but could get out of the six-year deal in 2026.
Restructuring other contracts, like those of Diggs and cornerback Tre’ Davious White, is a possibility, as Beane referred to, and the Bills still have a variety of needs to address, including linebacker, safety, backup quarterback, running back and wide receiver/tight end, with relatively limited space still to work with to remain complaint while filling out the roster.
The Bills also made moves over the weekend to save cap space, including signing linebacker Matt Milano to a two-year extension that created $6 million in cap space this year. Milano is now under contract with the team through 2026. The team also restructured defensive tackle Tim Settle’s deal to open $600,000 for 2023.
Buffalo had a busy Monday outside of creating cap room. The team re-signed punter Sam Martin to a three-year contract that only has a cap hit of $1.665 million in 2023 and can be ended after one year with little implication, re-signed linebacker Tyler Matakevich and defensive back Cam Lewis to one-year deals and added former Dallas Cowboys guard Connor McGovern on a three-year, $23 million deal.
Source: www.espn.com