Latest league development spells bad news for the Bills heading into pivotal 2026 offseason with plenty of roles to fill
Not the best of news for Buffalo heading into 2026.
The Buffalo Bills got some bad news — sort of. The NFL informed teams that the 2026 salary cap will be at $301.2 million, which is a $22 million raise over the 2025 number.
That may sound like good news on the surface, until you look at the fine details. Over The Cap was projecting the salary cap to be $305.5 million. Based on that evaluation, the Bills would have been around negative $3.8 million under the cap. Now, that number jumps to $6.1 million over the cap.
Buffalo sits near the bottom of the league in available cap space
Due to the lower end of the salary cap being realized, the issues with filling the roster just became that much harder. As of Friday afternoon, with the updated projections, there are only seven teams in a worse position than Buffalo cap-wise.
Chicago Bears (negative $6.4 million), Houston Texans (negative $7.2 million), New Orleans Saints (negative $10.5 million), Detroit Lions (negative $11.9 million), Jacksonville Jaguars (negative $15.7 million), Minnesota Vikings (negative $45.5 million), and Dallas Cowboys (negative $56.1 million) all sit below the Bills.
Still, sitting at the bottom third of the league in most metrics is bad news; it’s amplified when it’s related to their cap standings.
Bills have plenty of ways to get cap-compliant, despite the lowered salary cap
Buffalo controls its own destiny, and luckily enough for them, it won’t be hard to get over the $6 million hump. A few key restructurings to quarterback Josh Allen, offensive lineman Dion Dawkins, and defensive tackle Ed Oliver could create immediate relief.
Though there are also more difficult decisions, like the fate of tight end Dawson Knox with his massive contract, and players like wide receiver Curtis Samuel, whose production has been lacking since he joined the organization.
All of that being said, the Bills have plenty of ways to right the ship.
Where things get hairy is how they can afford to fill the roster, all while hitting the right notes regarding team needs. A safety, linebacker, edge, some cornerback depth, and obviously getting quarterback Josh Allen some help are a few that immediately come to mind. With so little cash and now the league confirming the lowered number, it just makes things that much more difficult.
General manager Brandon Beane has his work cut out for him. He’s been known to be a wizard in previous offseasons; let’s see how much magic he has left in him.
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