Twelve months ago, the Buffalo Bills were about to perform a sizable overhaul to their roster as they had 19 players eligible to enter unrestricted free agency.
On top of the potential loss of those players, general manager Brandon Beane was dealing with a bloated salary cap and had to make difficult decisions in releasing established veterans Mitch Morse, Tre’Davious White, Jordan Poyer, Siran Neal, Deonte Harty and Nyheim Hines, and he traded Ryan Bates.
It was a brutal bloodletting, and Beane admitted, “That’s the hard part about this job. There are a lot of hard things, but it doesn’t get harder than saying goodbye to some of the names … so many of those guys who have meant so much to what Sean and I have built here all the way back to 2017 and (been) a big part of all the success that we’ve had.”
With the start of the 2025 league year coming next week, the upheaval this time is far less treacherous. The Bills are in a much better spot in relation to the salary cap, player releases will be held to a minimum, and while they have 14 free agents, only a handful warrant being re-signed.
Here is the complete list of Bills free agents, and what I believe the Bills should do with each player.
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WR Amari Cooper
The Bills did not get the full version of Cooper after they acquired him in a trade from Cleveland last October. He had to learn a new playbook and get accustomed to new teammates, and then his progress was halted by a wrist injury and when he returned from that, he never really found his niche in the offense.
Wide receiver is a very expensive position and it’s going to be tough for the Bills to swim in the deep end. Sports contract website Spotrac.com has Cooper’s market value at two years, $28 million. For comparison, it has Chris Godwin, who is just one year younger than Cooper and will be 30 when the 2025 season begins, at three years, $67 million. If they get Cooper for less than the Spotrac valuation, I’d say do it, but they also need to address the position in the draft.
WR Mack Hollins
He was a pleasant surprise in 2024 and gave the Bills much more as a receiver than anyone expected. If they re-sign Cooper and also plan to pick a receiver in the draft, moving on is the right call. But if they don’t get Cooper back, Hollins should be a priority if he’ll accept a one-year contract for maybe $3 million which is slightly more than he made in 2024.
FB Reggie Gilliam
The Bills like having Gilliam on the team because he can play a little fullback, can help in a pinch at tight end, and he’s a core special teamer. There likely won’t be much buzz surrounding him in free agency so this should be a fairly easy re-sign for something in the $2.5 million per season range.
RB Ty Johnson
He was a valuable part of the Bills’ three-man unit and while James Cook is the best of the group, Johnson is the most well-rounded because he can make yardage as a runner, he’s a reliable pass catcher, and perhaps most important in this offense, he’s the Bills’ best pass protecting back.
He turns 28 in September so the clock is ticking and he may want to find a payday, but unless the Bills are planning to find his replacement in the draft, which is quite possible, they should seriously consider bringing him back on a two-year deal in the $5 million range.
OL Will Clapp
With five interior linemen signed in starters David Edwards, Connor McGovern and O’Cyrus Torrence, plus backups Sedrick Van Pran-Granger and Alec Anderson, there really isn’t anywhere to fit Clapp. He spent most of 2024 either inactive on game day or on the practice squad and was nice veteran insurance because Van Pran-Granger wasn’t ready to play as a rookie, but he should be in year two so there’s no need to bring Clapp back.
TE Quintin Morris
The third-year tight end was the only restricted free agent and the Bills opted not to give him the qualifying offer which was in the $3 million range so he is now an unrestricted free agent.
Morris has been a solid special teams player the past three seasons but has been a non-factor on offense with 15 career receptions because he’s buried behind Dalton Kincaid and Dawson Knox. It’s possible that the Bills could re-sign him to a deal with a slight bump from his $1.2 million salary in 2024, but they also have Zach Davidson already signed to a reserve/futures contact and they liked what he showed in training camp last summer.
CB Rasul Douglas
His play slipped in the second half of 2024 and now that he’s 31, it’s time for the Bills to look elsewhere, especially if he commands Spotrac’s valuation at three years, $35 million.
“We’ll see what happens with him,” Beane said. “Obviously, Christian (Benford) would be coming back and we have Kaiir (Elam) here and some other guys. So we’ll see. We’ll look in free agency, we’ll look in the draft, but I would say there’s other positions as well that we definitely need to look at and make decisions on, not only for this season but years to come.”
That sounds like Douglas will be a former Bill, and Beane understands he may need to sign a free agent, and draft a corner, too, because the depth chart is woefully inadequate.
S Damar Hamlin
He became a worldwide star due to his unfortunate and terrifying health scare in January 2023, and his return from near death will always be one of the most amazing stories in Bills history. But Hamlin’s four years should be up in Buffalo because they need to be more athletic at the position.
“There’s nothing but unbelievable things to say about what Damar has done and we’ll let the business take care of itself,” Beane said. “Of course we’d love to have Damar Hamlin back. The business has to make sense for him first and foremost, and then for us.”
DE Dawuane Smoot
He was hampered by injuries that forced him to miss six games and that limited his production, but when he played, he gave the Bills solid rotational depth both on the edge and on the inside. The defensive line continues to underwhelm in Buffalo, but Smoot is probably worth bringing back because of his versatility. Spotrac has him at a reasonable two years, $5.8 million and that range seems doable.
DT Austin Johnson
Outside of the two rather fluky interceptions he made, Johnson didn’t give the Bills much of anything else. With Ed Oliver, DaQuan Jones and Dewayne Carter in place, the draft is where the Bills need to fill out their DT chart so there’s no need to being back Johnson.
DT Quinton Jefferson
When he came over at midseason after being cut by the Jets, Jefferson filled a similar role to Smoot in that he could play inside and outside. But he’ll be 32 in a few months and like Johnson, his best days are well behind him.
DT Jordan Phillips
Enough is enough. Phillips just finished his third different stint with Buffalo and there’s no need to re-sign him. Besides, if they run into injury problems during the season, they can always call him then because he’s already said he doesn’t see himself playing anywhere else.
DE Casey Toohill
The Bills were hoping Toohill could bring some juice to their pass rush from the edge, but Toohill was so non-productive that he was cut late in the season before being added back to the practice squad. A reunion is highly unlikely.
LS Reid Ferguson
He’s the longest-tenured player on the team, arriving in 2016 under Rex Ryan. Long snappers can play forever, and when you find a good one, which Ferguson always has been, you keep him so the Bills will absolutely make that happen.