Bills’ offseason needs may have just gotten a lot more difficult to solve with bold ESPN prediction ahead of free agency
Things are about to get a whole lot more interesting at One Bills Drive.
The Buffalo Bills need to get quarterback Josh Allen some more weapons; that much is for certain. However, Buffalo may have to fill a few more major team needs through the draft and free agency if a portion of the latest ESPN article is any indication. General manager Brandon Beane might have to find some more money in the banana stand if any of these predictions pan out to be true.
Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano discussed what the Bills might be doing this free agency in an article talking about all of the combine buzz leading up to the NFL free agency period. That’s where two names in specific were brought up regarding the Bills, with both players potentially being on the outside looking in. Two offensive linemen: Connor McGovern and David Edwards.
“Bills left guard David Edwards and center Connor McGovern are free agents. Buffalo would be happy to re-sign one of them, with a bunch of teams looking for interior O-line help, but the Bills have cap issues and could look to replace both.” — Dan Graziano
Buffalo has a difficult decision with Connor McGovern and David Edwards
Both McGovern and Edwards, as the gentlemen alluded to, are free agents, and Buffalo already has a tall task of trying to retain one or both of the players heading into the 2026 season. With not a lot of available cap space, Buffalo could very well lose out on both players and have even bigger shoes to fill in the draft and free agency.
McGovern’s evaluation sits at around $16.3 million a season, while Edwards is nearly $20 million. A steep price to pay for one or any of these players, and not a lot of cap space to get it done. Buffalo, according to Over The Cap, is sitting at negative $6 million in available cap space after the official mark was set by the NFL last week. It was a little lower than what teams were expecting, which once again puts Buffalo in a difficult position.
I suspect the Bills will keep one or both of the players, and if I absolutely had to choose, I could see the team moving on from Edwards to try and see what Sedrick Van Pran-Granger brings to the table. Even still, for Buffalo to make a move to bring back one or both of the players, they would need to clear up some cap space. That could start with quarterback Josh Allen and offensive lineman Dion Dawkins to get over the hump and get the available space needed to get a contract done.
At the end of the day, this is the tightrope that Beane has to walk. Protection Allen isn’t optional; it’s the foundation of everything this franchise wants to accomplish. Letting both McGovern and Edwards walk would create another glaring need on an offensive line that simply can’t afford regression.
Restructures feel inevitable, difficult decisions feel imminent, and if Buffalo wants to keep its MVP quarterback upright while still chasing upgrades at wide receiver and elsewhere, the money has to come from somewhere.
The Bills can’t afford to blink here.
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