Bills News: Ed Oliver to sign a four-year contract extension
The Buffalo Bills reached an agreement with defensive tackle Ed Oliver on a four-year contract extension worth $68 million on Saturday, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. The deal will include $45 million guaranteed. Per Over the Cap, Oliver's average value per year of $17M in new money would rank 13th in the NFL. However, $45 […]
The Buffalo Bills reached an agreement with defensive tackle Ed Oliver on a four-year contract extension worth $68 million on Saturday, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.
The deal will include $45 million guaranteed. Per Over the Cap, Oliver's average value per year of $17M in new money would rank 13th in the NFL. However, $45 million in total guaranteed money would rank 7th.
The deal means the Bills are locking up Oliver for the next five seasons as he'll be signed through 2027.
In four years at Buffalo, Oliver has racked up 14.5 sacks with 42 QB hits and 30 tackles for loss. He's also forced a fumble in each of his first four seasons in the NFL. Although not someone who lights up the stat sheet, Oliver has shown flashes of eliteness throughout his career.
In agreeing to the extension, the Bills are betting on him to take a step forward in terms of consistency. As you can notice with the salary rankings above, Oliver could end up being a bargain if he does that. Dominant defensive tackles can be game-changers as they can consistently manipulate the opponent's pass protection schemes.
Otherwise, this could go down as an overpay in GM Brandon Beane's track record as Oliver's play hasn't necessarily justified such a price tag.
Call it a calculated risk-reward management play from the Bills.
How Ed Oliver's new deal will help Bills in 2023
We'll see how the future plays out. In the meantime, Oliver's extension is likely to provide significant cap relief for the Bills. He was set to count $10.8 million toward the salary cap this season. The extension will surely lower such a number as a big chunk of the salary will likely be converted into a signing bonus.
As of right now, the Bills have under $1.5 million of salary cap space. With that set to go up once Oliver's deal is officially signed, the front office will have more breathing room to make a few more signings.
