WGR

‘Biggest need for depth: Cornerback.”

‘”If you add a 17th game, there’s additional risk that we incur. We’re trying to figure out how we can mitigate as much as possible. Having a longer wrap up time before you put pads on, maximizing the pads that you can have on, as well as increasing the off days.”‘

‘“[I haven’t read] the full-on, full-out CBA. I mean, it hasn’t been truly written out yet. We kind of scaled it to what the 2011 one was, and then we went over all the tweaks, all the changes. The big impact thing, of course, is the 17th game. That’s the toughest selling point for any rep. going back to the locker rooms. But, there are a lot of good things in this CBA. It’s not perfect. Nobody really wants to play another game, but if we can make it work, then we’re going to make it work.”’

‘“I’m looking for a good player. Receiver, of all positions probably, comes in the Baskin-Robbins 31 flavors. Size, speed, length, guys who can run after catch. All sorts of variables… There are guys who can play above the rim. This is a deep receiver draft… one of the last things left is the medical with some of these guys, and making sure they medically check out. We’re not just looking for a certain thing, a speed or size. We’re looking for good players that we know that can come in and fit alongside what we’ve already got. The John Browns, the Cole Beasleys and the rest of that group.”’

‘Of this trio, Henry Ruggs is getting the most attention as a legitimate top-three receiver in this draft. Along with Jerry Jeudy and CeeDee Lamb, Ruggs is a potential top-10 or -15 pick in the draft, and everyone will have their eyes on the TV when he lines up for the 40-yard dash. He’s expected to closely contest John Ross’ combine record of 4.22 seconds, given that he recorded a 4.25 second time at Alabama’s Pro Day. He’s already making waves early in the combine after measurements.’

‘The Bills and Washington Redskins had familiarity with Olsen, but it proved to not be enough to lure him in. Olsen spent time in Carolina with Bills head coach Sean McDermott, general manager Brandon Beane, as well as new Washington head coach Ron Rivera.’

‘The idea of franchise tagging Phillips has nothing to do with the $15.5 million. It has everything to do with it only being for one year. The worst thing I believe the Bills could do is sign Phillips to a multi-year extension. By 2021, the Bills will have to give out new deals to cornerback Tre’Davious White, left tackle Dion Dawkins, linebacker Matt Milano, and even safety Jordan Poyer if they want to keep him around. A multi-year deal for Phillips would stretch into a time period where the Bills have to pay all those guys, and possibly quarterback Josh Allen and linebacker Tremaine Edmunds too.’

‘Lotulelei was set to count $10.1 million against the team’s salary cap in 2020. The restructure will give the Bills some cap relief, although the team will already have close to $90 million in available space when free agency opens in March.’

‘One way the Bills can get better on defense next season is a more productive pass-rush on the edge. While Shaq Lawson had a career year in his contract season, it still only resulted in 6.5 sacks. There are better options in free agency that the Bills can pay if they are going to reach deep into their pockets for an edge-rusher.’

‘Hauschka had a rough start to the season, but finished strong. Over the first nine games, Hauschka was only 8-for-13 on field goal attempts, and also missed an extra point. Over the final seven games, he was 14-for-15 on field goals. The Bills actually put in a waiver claim on kicker Chase McLaughlin in early December after he was waived by the 49ers, but the Colts had a higher waiver priority and were awarded McLaughlin, who was with the Bills during training camp. So it’s clear the Bills were at least looking to bring in some competition for Hauschka, who had a nice bounce-back second half. His leg doesn’t seem to have the strength it did even just a couple years ago. After going 7-for-9 on field goals of 50-yards or more in 2017, he’s only 5-for-12 over the last two years including only 1-for-5 last season.’

‘Cesaire played seven years in the NFL, all with the San Diego Chargers, from 2003 to 2011, where he registered 220 career tackles, 12.5 sacks and three forced fumbles in 125 games. He entered the NFL as an undrafted player back in 2003 out of Southern Connecticut State.’

‘Poyer, however, is going into the final year of a contract that has been a tremendous value for the Bills. He’s scheduled to make $3.45 million in base salary and bonuses. To put that into perspective, Poyer is scheduled to be the 30th-highest paid safety in the NFL in 2020, and that doesn’t include new contracts that will be handed out in free agency. He’ll count for only $4.325 million against the cap. A great value for the Bills in both respects. There’s been a lot of buzz on social media and elsewhere over the last year or so about Poyer’s contract and the team needing to pay him more. There’s no doubt he’s performed well enough to warrant a new deal and more money, but the Bills have several contracts they’ll have to address over the next year, including cornerback Tre’Davious White, linebacker Matt Milano, and offensive tackle Dion Dawkins, who are all also going into the final years of their deals. For 2020, Poyer is under contract to the Bills, and still a huge piece of what they do on defense.’

‘Johnson is a pending unrestricted free agent. He should be a player the team wants to have back, both from a depth and talent standpoint. He’s a former first round pick who’s shown he can be a valuable player. It will be interesting to see what his market value is after being a part-time player but staying healthy. My sense is he won’t be offered huge money elsewhere, and teams would probably still rather have him on a shorter-term deal. That can easily work for the Bills and they may very well want to make that happen.’

‘The team is very high on Corey Thompson, who is primarily a weakside backup for Matt Milano and also a core special teams player. He’ll be the one to beat for that role going into camp once again in 2020, but his spot is certainly not guaranteed.’

‘But Olsen has had his injury concerns, as well. The soon-to-be 35 year old has missed 18 games over the last three seasons due to foot injuries. Over the last four seasons, the two have played the exact same amount of games. Olsen has been far more productive.’