Bloodbath at 1 Bills Drive: Why Buffalo cut everyone on a random Wednesday in March
The Buffalo Bills are going to look quite a bit different next season. Entering the offseason $40 million over the salary cap, the Bills knew they would be forced to make some tough decisions. They made several of those decisions on Wednesday, releasing five players. Buffalo began the day with the release of 2021 All-Pro safety […]
The Buffalo Bills are going to look quite a bit different next season. Entering the offseason $40 million over the salary cap, the Bills knew they would be forced to make some tough decisions. They made several of those decisions on Wednesday, releasing five players.
Buffalo began the day with the release of 2021 All-Pro safety Jordan Poyer, ending a seven-year run with the Bills. Poyer was set to make a little over $7 million in 2024.
A couple of hours later, the Bills released wide receiver and special teams ace Deonte Harty as well as center Mitch Morse. Harty was named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week in Week 18 after returning a punt 96 yards for a touchdown. Morse was a Pro Bowler in 2022 and started 77 games in five seasons for Buffalo. The Bills will save $12.8 million in cap space with the releases Harty and Morse.
The Bills capped off the day by releasing two more players – cornerbacks Siran Neal and Tre'Davious White. Neal was a fifth-round pick by Buffalo in 2018 who became a core special teams contributor and a reliable rotational defensive back. He was set to make just under $3 million in 2024.
White is a two-time Pro Bowler and All-Pro who has been one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL since being drafted in 2017. He has struggled to stay healthy as of late, missing 30 games over the past three seasons. The release of White will save Buffalo about $10.2 million, but it is important to note that the Bills have designated him as a post-June 1 cut, so they won't get the savings of his release until then.
White is free to sign with another team as soon as free agency officially begins. All-in-all, the Bills saved $25.96 million in cap space (not including White's savings) with the five cuts they made on Wednesday and the release of running back Nyheim Hines earlier in the week. Buffalo has also re-worked star pass rusher Von Miller's contract to create some savings.
The Bills got themselves into this situation with an "all-in" effort to win a Super Bowl. That obviously didn't happen as they suffered a heartbreaking loss to the eventual Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round of the playoffs. Buffalo's season has ended in the divisional round each of the last three years. The Bills now face the challenge of re-tooling their roster on a tight budget.
