Joe Brady’s first offseason features a defining question that may dictate the Bills’ path in 2026
Joe Brady and the Bills front office have their work cut out for them.
The Buffalo Bills don’t have a lot of money and have a bunch of players who are in line to make some serious cash. New head coach Joe Brady has a difficult task ahead of him, and it all revolves around the offensive line for the Buffalo Bills.
Buffalo had one of the most dominant offensive lines in football, despite quarterback Josh Allen being sacked for the most times in his entire career. Much of that was on Allen trying to make something out of nothing, not an indictment of the performance of the offensive line. The work that former offensive line coach Aaron Kromer had done with this unit is remarkable, and one of the reasons he got a vote for the league’s top assistant when NFL Honors rolled around.
With the offseason in full swing, Buffalo has some difficult decisions ahead of it as two mainstays on the offensive line are due for a new contract: David Edwards and Connor McGovern.
Dion Dawkins, Spencer Brown, and O’Cyrus Torrence all round out that well-established unit.
McGovern and Edwards are due for a massive pay increase in 2026
Edwards had signed a two-year, $6 million contract with the Bills that included $1.75 million in signing bonuses and $2.95 million guaranteed with an average annual salary of $3 million. That takes a big jump when you look at Spotrac’s estimated market value for the starting left guard.
According to Spotrac, Edwards’ market value is around three years and $59 million, which is a huge jump from what the Bills got him for. It would be the sixth-highest guard in terms of total money and would rank around 118th in the league in terms of total deals. He would be right around where Ben Powers or Samuel Cosmi made, sitting at around the same age when they signed those deals.
It doesn’t get much better when you look at McGovern’s deal, either.
McGovern signed a three-year, $22.35 million contract with the Bills that included an $8 million signing bonus with $11 million in guaranteed dollars and an average annual salary of $7.45 million. He has a void year in 2026, if the Bills don’t sign him to a new contract, where the team will eat around $5 million in dead cap space if they were to let him walk. However, they may have to after seeing his market value.
Spotrac has his estimated market value at about three years and $49 million, with an average annual salary of $16 million, which would rank third in the NFL among centers and 169th overall. His contract would be similar to that of Creed Humphrey or Lloyd Cushenberry, a steep cost for Buffalo.
At that cost, Buffalo needs to let both of them walk in free agency. The team already has a solution for both positions, as Alec Anderson can take over for David Edwards, and Sedrick Van Pran-Granger can take over for McGovern. It wouldn’t be a perfect one-to-one, but Buffalo could pull off some major cost-saving measures by slotting those guys in, in favor of doling out massive contracts to McGovern and Edwards in the early stages of the offseason.
It’s not just free agents that the Bills have to worry about
Even if Buffalo moves on from both Edwards and McGovern, the cap questions along the offensive line don’t end there. O’Cyrus Torrence is eligible for a contract extension, even though he’s under contract for 2026. There’s only an estimation for what his cap hit will be this season, since the new year doesn’t begin until March. But after 2026, his future is in question. Spotrac has his estimated cap hit at $4.3 million.
Buffalo has some difficult decisions ahead of it, but a clear path to save money would be to walk away from two staples of the offensive line and perhaps a third after the season ends. That means, whether through the draft or free agency, Buffalo has some work to do.
Brady’s first season as the new head coach begins with one of the most difficult tasks.
This is the reality of the NFL’s business side colliding with Buffalo’s success up front. Brady inherits an offensive line that works, but one he may not be able to afford to keep intact.
Tough calls are coming, fan favorites may walk, and continuity could take a hit, but smart teams survive by staying ahead of the cap, not reacting to it.
If Brady gets this right, it could set the tone for how the Bills build and sustain a contender in a new era.
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