The Buffalo Bills struggled to get going in the 2023 season, starting 6-6 in their first 12 games. The bye week in Week 13 came at the perfect time as Buffalo won its final five games of the season to not only secure a playoff berth but an AFC East divisional title thanks to the Miami Dolphins ending the season with a losing streak.
The Bills beat the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Wild Card round but were unable to overcome the Kansas City Chiefs in the Divisional round despite being at home. It was another season where it seemed like Buffalo had everything figured out but then fell apart in a big game, causing many to question the front office, staff and players themselves.
3 things Bills must do this offseason
Stefon Diggs and who?
I think that the bigger need is finding a reliable WR2 in the offense, but technically, the process does start with determining if Diggs can still be a WR1. It sounds weird asking that question, but the 30-year-old Diggs kind of disappeared when the Bills needed him most. He scored his last touchdown of the season in Week 12 against the Philadelphia Eagles. After that, Diggs had more than 50 receiving yards in a game just twice, and one of those was 52 yards against the Steelers in the playoffs.
Buffalo could end up moving Diggs and save some money against the cap, but then they would need to find two new receivers as last year’s WR2 Gabe Davis hit free agency. Davis finished with 746 yards and seven touchdowns, which is a lot of production to try and find when the team is in cap space trouble. The Bills did agree to terms with K.J. Hamler, but he has a hefty injury history and isn’t likely to be able to put up No. 2 WR numbers.
Rebuild defensive line
Initially, this task was going to bring in another pass rusher, but when you look at Buffalo’s free agents, the entire defensive line is going to need work. While mainly depth, the Bills are losing eight players from the defensive line to free agency. Greg Rousseau and Ed Oliver will be the holdovers from this year’s starters, with both DaQuan Jones and Leonard Floyd hitting the market.
If you look at Buffalo’s depth chart, not only are they losing two starters, but they are losing the first backup for both defensive end and both defensive tackle spots to free agency. Again, the Bills are facing cap problems, so they are going to have to get very creative when bringing in replacements or are going to have to prepare to have a subpar defensive front in a tough division.
Clear Cap
The problem for Buffalo is that they have 21 free agents and have the least available cap space in the league. The Bills haven’t started doing their contract restructures, which will inevitably help, but as of March 6, they are $42.175 million over the cap limit. The majority of their free agents are depth pieces, but they need bodies to make up the roster. There will likely be a compensatory pick thrown in, but for now, Buffalo has 10 picks in the upcoming NFL Draft. This will help fill out the roster, but in a division as tough as the AFC East projects to be in 2024, relying on rookies is a risky move. Money doesn’t always feel real in the NFL, but being over the cap space limit by $23 more than the next team just feels like the Bills are going to have a tough time fielding a team that will be able to be in the Super Bowl hunt.