Free agency is in full swing and Buffalo Bills twitter has been set ablaze with VERY strong opinions and no clear coconscious. I felt as though it would be a great time for me, local Bills expert, to weigh in on the moves thus far, catch you up if you’ve missed anything, and share my unbiased thoughts on the moves made in the first week.

Resining’s

C Conor McGovern – 4 Years, $52M ($32M Guaranteed)

Arguably the most important signing of the Bills free agency thus far, Buffalo brought back their stand out Center on a home town discount at $13M per year. A great value when you look at the Linderbaum contract given by the Raiders.

McGovern slide into the Center position after the departure of Mitch Morse and the Bills offense did not miss a beat. He graded out as a top 10 center in both his 2024 and 2025 campaigns per PFF and earned himself a pro bowl nod in 2024. He was an important piece of a top shelf offense line and would have been difficult to replace with so many other holes on the Bills roster.

Signing him, and at a team friendly deal nonetheless, allows the Bills to solely focus on the RG position and replacing Edwards, a much more manageable task. I would even argue their a re a couple of depth pieces on the Bills roster that could start this upcoming season while the Bills focus on other positions ( Anderson, Lundt)

TE Dawson Knox – 3 Year Extension worth $20M

Originally Dawson Knox was signed to a 4 year $52M extension, earing $13M per year. As of today we learned that the extension will Dawson $20M over the course of three years, about $6.7M per year. A much, much easier pill to swallow than his original contract.

Extending, trading, and cutting were all on the table. Ultimately this feels like the right choice. With Kincaid’s injury history its nice having a strong insurance piece waiting in the wings. Plus with the departure of Gilliam to the Patriots I have heard rumors of Hawkes, the standout blocking TE from the 2025 draft, into the Fullback position, making Knox’s seat as TE2 much much cooler.

P Mitch Wishnowsky – 1 Year

Hooray. Punter issue solved. I have no notes. Who cares. The Bills will not be punting next season.

OL Ryan Van Demark – 1 Year, $3.25M

Love this resigning. An important depth piece that can swing all over the line. When rebuilding a team the three places you need to focus are QB, then offensive and defensive line. You will always be competitive when these units are above average. The Buffalo Bills continue to assure the offensive line piece of their team are up to snuff.

New Additions

WR DJ Moore – Traded for 2nd Round Pick

I wish I liked this move guys, I really do. But this is my least favorite decision of the off season far and away. I like DJ Moore, alright? Hes a solid WR1. Hes easily the best pass catcher on the Bills roster. But to give up a second round pick for him WHILE paying him around $28M a year feels…incredibly steep. Especially when you see the trade Pittsburgh made for Pittman. That compensation is more what I would expect when taking a player like Moore. He didn’t fit in Chicago. They needed to get ride of him. I cannot imagine it required a second to go and get him. I would have rather had the Pittman trade 10/10 times. It puts the Bills in a bit of an awkward situation where they now only have 2 top 100 picks and a lot of roster positions that need to be improved upon. I will be happy Moore is on the team, but man it feels like we got fleeced.

EDGE Bradley Chubb – 3 Years, $43.5M ($29M Guaranteed)

This, in my opinion, is the crux of Bills Twitter discourse happening as of late. Its crazy, its toxic, people are losing there minds, I love it. It shows me that this fan base is still hurt. We are wounded from poor signings and devastating playoff loses. So I understand why people do not like this signing. Its an older, injury prone, edge rusher getting a multi year deal with the Buffalo Bills. Something we have seen before. My question to those who do not like this acquisition is…What would you rather they had done at Edge?

Max Crosby would have cost multiple first round picks to acquire. Picks that the Bills can’t afford to give up with how many holes they have on their roster. The other clear option was Hendrickson…but he’s ALSO over the hilll and ALSO has injury issues. He also cost about double what we are paying for Chubb. While Chubb isn’t going to get double digit sacks like Hendrickson might (and its a big might at his age), I feel confident saying Chubb will get home 7-8 times each season. A respectible number if others on the line pull their weight. He’s also a great edge defener, which the Bill need badley after Bosa’s performances late in the playoff push last year.

The Bills are not getting their long-term superstar answer at Edge, but the answer was never there to begin with. Plugging in a veteran that can get home is the best we can hope for given the rest of the Bills situation right now. I am expecting this signing to be closer to a Leonard Floyd than I am a Joey Bosa.

S C.J. Gardner-Johnson – 1 Year, $6M

I have always wanted this guy on the Buffalo Bills. One of the true bad boys of the NFL right now. A shit talker through and through. The defense lacks edge currently. No enforcers, no pot stirrers. CJGJ is going to bring that to the table next year along with some excellent safety skills. Last year he was a leader on the Bears defense, totaling 51 tackles, 5 TFLs, 3 sacks, 2 INTs and a FF in just 10 games. Insane production from the veteran and he is just what the Bills desperately need at the position. He will work as a bridge player for whoever the Bills decide to draft this year or next to be the long term starter aside from Cole Bishop.

CB Dee Alford – 3 Years, $21M ($10.12M Guaranteed)

A very safe and solid signing from the Bills in my humble opinion. Alford originally played in the CFL and worked his way into the NFL by capturing the starting job in Atlanta. What a dawg. He since became a reliable slot player causing 10TFL, 3.5 sacks, 37 pass deflections and 4 interceptions during his 64 NFL games. The most impressive piece about Alford is his durability. He played in 16 games each year in Atlanta. We love to hear that, the best ability is availability.

This signing didn’t really rock the boat much on Bills Twitter, which to me, means its a good signing.

QB Kyle Allen – 2 Years, $4.1M

This one didn’t move the needle for me. It more felt like we were bringing Josh Allen a buddy back rather than getting quality at the position. I also would have rather drafted a cost effective backup considering how tight the team is on cap space. But it isn’t anything to get worked up about. Its the type of move you can agree to disagree with and still have your peace. On the plus side, I do like both quarterbacks on the roster having the same last name.

The Bottom Line – What’s Next?

The Bills have had a super solid offseason thus far. They have filled holes at Center, Safety, Edge, Wide Receiver and Nickel. While they still need to bring in more competition in free agency, especially at linebacker and DT, its opened up some options for this Bills heading into the draft. They can draft a future starter early at any of the aforementioned positions. A WR would work. An edge would work. A DT would work. A linebacker would work. Taking a player at any of those for positions who has slide in the draft would be a win for them. They also could trade back to a QB needy team moving up to get Simpson an acquire more valuable player at this positions throughout the second and third rounds.

The bottom line is this; I trust Beane. Mostly. I can see the vision, it’s coming into picture. I think the moves are being made to rebuild and retool this roster around our superstar QB while he is still in his prime. But time is running out. Josh Allen is 30 next year. The window only continues to shrink. Beane must hit this draft season or it could spell serious trouble for him and his future at the Buffalo Bills organization.