Contracts Bills Must Consider Cutting in 2023 Offseason

As the Buffalo Bills recover from a disappointing exit in the divisional round of the playoffs, general manager Brandon Beane must begin work on putting together a championship contender for 2023.

In some ways, that job is easy. Just having Josh Allen at the helm puts them at a certain level. But as the playoffs have revealed in each of the last three seasons, the challenge lies in putting the right team around Allen.

As the team gets further into his current contract, the job will get harder. Allen is set to make $39.8 million next season, and the Bills are set to start the offseason approximately $16 million over the cap.

That means Beane has quite the high-wire balancing act on his hands this offseason. He will need to balance the budget while finding ways to refresh the roster for another run at the Super Bowl.

That means restructuring some contracts, but it also means cutting some ties entirely. Based on their projected role moving forward and the money the team could save, these players should be cut candidates.

C Mitch Morse

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ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK - JANUARY 08: Mitch Morse #60 of the Buffalo Bills lines up during the fourth quarter against the New England Patriots at Highmark Stadium on January 08, 2023 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Bryan Bennett/Getty Images)

No player on the Bills roster carries a higher cap savings number than center Mitch Morse. The franchise would cut $6.3 million of his $11.3 million salary from their cap bill this season.

Morse is a solid center, but $11.3 million is a lot to pay for a center who has not been playing at an elite level. The 30-year-old was the 24th-ranked center by PFF's metrics, giving up three sacks in the process.

The Bills' lack of a running game has been an issue for a while now. Part of the problem lies in an interior offensive line that struggles to get a push against opposing defenses.

Morse would be the seventh-highest paid center in 2023 if the Bills were to leave his contract unaltered. An extension that includes a restructure would be possible, but it's not clear that his play has warranted that amount of money.

The Bills could likely find similar play for much cheaper on the free-agent market. For instance, the Carolina Panthers signed former guard Bradley Bozeman last offseason to a one-year, $2.8 million contract, converted him to center, and he graded slightly higher with PFF.

This is an example of a spot where Beane needs to get creative to save the team some cap room while maintaining a competitive roster.

RB Nyheim Hines

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ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK - JANUARY 22: Nyheim Hines #20 of the Buffalo Bills returns a kick against the Cincinnati Bengals during the second quarter in the AFC Divisional Playoff game at Highmark Stadium on January 22, 2023 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images)

The decision to trade for Nyheim Hines this season was a good, calculated move. They only gave up Zack Moss and a sixth-round pick. Because it happened midseason, it didn't really impact their cap situation because they had room for his 2022 salary.

But now they have to tighten their belts, and it's worth asking if Hines has a big enough role to justify keeping him when they could save $4.8 million by cutting him since he has no guaranteed money in 2023.

With the Colts, Hines was a good pass-catching back who saw five or more targets in four of his seven games with the Colts. He saw at least two in each of those games and responded with 25 catches for 188 yards.

However, he was pretty much relegated to being a return man in Buffalo.

He only saw nine targets across nine games with the Bills and had six rushing attempts for -3 yards. Simply put, cutting him is an obvious move with that kind of role. The Bills drafted James Cook in the 2022 draft.

It's going to have to be his backfield, and the Bills would be wise to use at least a mid-round pick to find a complement for him.

DT Tim Settle

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CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - DECEMBER 24: Tim Settle #99 of the Buffalo Bills celebrates a recovered fumble during the third quarter in the game against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field on December 24, 2022 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

Tim Settle seemed like a great under-the-radar signing for the Bills this offseason. He was just one season removed from a five-sack season as a rotational player in Washington.

As it turns out, Settle played more like his final season in Washington, in which he had just 13 tackles, no sacks and four tackles for loss.

Settle struggled to get on the field. DaQuan Jones and Ed Oliver proved well-conditioned enough to each take at least 50 percent of the snaps. Settle registered 35.4 percent of the snaps, while Jordan Phillips was on the field for 32.9 percent.

The 25-year-old didn't exactly stand out in his limited sample size. He has just one sack and 13 tackles with a PFF grade of 53.8.

That level of play is easily replaceable, and the Bills can clear $2.2 million from their payroll by moving on from the defensive tackle.

With a dynamic duo of Oliver and Jones already under contract, the Bills are going to have to rely on their ability to develop another rotational option on the interior to help create cap room to improve the team.