Bills' 2026 Free Agents, Targets and Draft Needs After NFL Playoff Loss

For the first time since 2019, the Buffalo Bills failed to win the AFC East. However, they did return to the playoffs for the seventh straight year.

While Buffalo didn't seem as formidable during the regular season as it had been in recent years, quarterback Josh Allen had another terrific campaign. He gave the Bills a chance to win every single week, and the team carried that asset into the postseason.

Now that Buffalo's playoff run has ended, though, the Bills could afford to put a few more pieces around their star quarterback. That'll be easier in theory than in practice, of course. Head coach Sean McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane have quite a bit of work ahead of them.

The Bills have plenty to navigate in the coming weeks and months, including front-office decisions, expiring contracts, free agency, and the 2026 draft. The new league year won't begin until March 11, but Buffalo's offseason starts now.

Free Agents

AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty

Bills LB Matt Milano

Unrestricted Free Agents

Edge Joey Bosa

G David Edwards

Edge A.J. Epenesa

S Sam Franklin

FB Reggie Gilliam

S Damar Hamlin

CB Cam Lewis

DT DaQuan Jones

C Connor McGovern

LB Matt Milano

DL Larry Ogunjobi

S Jordan Poyer

K Matt Prater

CB Darius Slay

Edge Shaq Thompson

QB Mitch Trubisky

CB Tre'Davious White

P Mitch Wishnowsky

Restricted/Exclusive-Rights Free Agents

OT Alec Anderson

OT Ryan Van Demark

This could end up being a pivotal offseason for the Bills and their Super Bowl window because of cap constraints. Buffalo has several key contributors slated to hit the market and is projected to be right at or above the salary cap.

Expect one of Beane's top offseason priorities to involve generating cap space. Receiver Curtis Samuel and tight end Dawson Knox loom as potential cap casualties or candidates for contract restructuring.

If Buffalo can find more cap room by the start of free agency, it may choose to start by re-signing players along the offensive line. Connor McGovern and David Edwards were both important starters this past season who helped make the offense go.

Defensively, Matt Milano has long been one of Buffalo's most important pieces. It's hard to envision the 31-year-old playing for a different team at this point, but Beane will have to make some difficult decisions.

DaQuan Jones, Tre'Davious White, and Jordan Poyer are other defensive starters who are scheduled for free agency. Pass-rushers A.J. Epenesa and Joey Bosa are also slated to hit the market, as are specialists Matt Prater and Mitch Wishnowsky.

Expect Beane to try re-signing several players ahead of free agency rather than trying to outbid others after the market opens. Expect him to then backfield positions with draft picks and team-friendly free-agent contracts.

Potential Free-Agent/Trade Targets

AP Photo/Zach Bolinger

WR Alec Pierce

The Bills aren't currently in a position to be aggressive on the free-agent or trade markets in the spring. However, that may change between now and the start of the legal-contact window on March 9.

Releasing Samuel, for example, would save $6.3 million in cap space. Releasing Knox with a post-June 1 designation would create $12 million in additional cap room.

Even with additional cap room, the Bills are likely to stick to pursuing relative bargains—though if a legitimate star pass-rusher like Maxx Crosby becomes available, Beane will likely inquire.

Players on expiring rookie deals, like Jalin Hyatt, Derick Hall, and B.J. Ojulari, will be more realistic trade targets for the Bills this offseason.

Buffalo will probably target relative bargains in free agency, too. Don't expect the Bills to be major players during the market's initial wave, unless they believe they've identified a true go-to wide receiver, which the team currently lacks.

Wideouts like George Pickens, Alec Pierce, Jauan Jennings, and Wan'Dale Robinson may be high on Buffalo's wish list, though the market cost of wideouts could be prohibitive. Targeting a wideout in the draft would be the more budget-conscious move.

Expect Buffalo to instead kick the tires of players who may accept a team-friendly deal, like receiver DeAndre Hopkins, edge-rusher Kyle Van Noy, cornerback Greg Newsome II, and safety Andrew Wingard.

Aside from signing Bosa, the Bills' foray into 2025 free agency wasn't very splashy. Things aren't likely to be much different this offseason.

Draft Targets

Alex Slitz/Getty Images

Texas A&M WR Kevin Concepcion

The Bills will likely look to fill as many needs as possible with rookie contracts. They currently have seven total selections—one each in Rounds 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, plus a pair of seventh-rounders.

If a legitimate first-round receiver is still on the board when Buffalo selects in Round 1, it will surprise no one if the Bills take a receiver like Texas A&M's Kevin Concepcion. Keon Coleman hasn't developed into the sort of go-to target Allen once had in Stefon Diggs.

Concepcion has the tools and the intangibles to fill that role.

"Concepcion changed the narrative from being a gadget-specific receiver into one of college football's most explosive run-after-catch weapons," Dame Parson of the B/R Scouting Department wrote. "...He's developing into a well-rounded, high-impact receiver with a high ceiling as an NFL option."

If the right receiver isn't there in Round 1, expect prospects like Oklahoma receiver Deion Burks and Georgia wideout  Zachariah Branch to interest Buffalo in Round 1.

Buffalo may also look to add a pass-rusher or an interior lineman in the first round if a receiver isn't available—and depending on who the Bills are able to retain. Prospects like Penn State lineman Olaivavega Ioane and Clemson edge-rusher T.J. Parker should also be on Buffalo's Round 1 radar.

Expect the Bills to also have interest in prospects like Cincinnati linebacker Jake Golday, Texas Tech edge Romello Height, Georgia cornerback Daylen Everette, Alabama defensive lineman Tim Keenan III, and Georgia Tech lineman Keylan Rutledge on Day 2.

Beane will likely use the final day of the draft to address depth and/or add high-upside developmental prospects like Bryce Boettcher—who was taken by the Houston Astros in the MLB draft. If Buffalo allows backup quarterback Mitch Trubisky to leave in free agency, it may look to add a developmental QB at the end of the draft or in undrafted free agency.

*Cap, contract and free-agent status information via Spotrac. Draft information via Tankathon