Charles Clay, Buffalo Bills Agree to New Contract

After signing a five-year, $38 million contract with the Buffalo Bills last offseason, tight end Charles Clay has agreed to restructure his deal.

The Bills announced the news on Thursday and provided comments from general manager Doug Whaley. “We just finished a renegotiation on Charles Clay,” said Whaley. “And there are other guys we may want to extend.”

The details of the new contract were not disclosed. 

According to Sal Capaccio of WGR 550 in Buffalo, Clay was expected to have a $10 million roster bonus due on March 11 converted into a signing bonus, which would bring his 2016 salary-cap number down from $13.5 million to $6 million.

Per Capaccio, the Bills' top 51 contracts currently come to roughly $157 million, but the cap is projected to be somewhere in the neighborhood of $155 million.

Restructuring Clay's deal provides significant relief, as would doing the same with defensive backs Leodis McKelvin and Corey Graham as well as releasing defensive end Mario Williams, which are all moves Capaccio anticipates.

After spending the first four seasons of his NFL career with the Miami Dolphins, Clay joined the rival Bills in 2015 and produced to the tune of 51 receptions for 528 yards and three touchdowns in 13 games.

He missed the final three contests of the campaign with a back injury but insists he is feeling good and will be ready to go for 2016, according to BuffaloBills.com (h/t Daniel Burke of Scout.com): "I had a minor deal. It's not bad now, I mean I feel good. I'm recovered now. I got out there and did some running so it's a good deal, man. We were kind of scared, anytime you have a back deal you know? It definitely wasn't anything major."

Sitting out three games and being hampered for others contributed to his drop-off in production after averaging nearly 64 catches and 682 yards per season for the Dolphins in 2013 and 2014.

After what was a down season for him and a somewhat disappointing year for the Bills overall due to an 8-8 finish, Clay believes there is plenty of room for improvement, perBrayton J. Wilson of WGR 550:

"

I feel there's a lot of things we could do better. The biggest thing is executing more consistently. I feel like we have a lot of guys, a lot of weapons and plays to be the top offense in the league which is our goal. I feel like, at times, we definitely looked like the number one offense and other times we didn't. Going forward, if we could execute on a more consistent basis, that would help.

"

Wide receiver Sammy Watkins is the No. 1 target in Buffalo's passing game, but Clay has a chance to take hold of the No. 2 role and become a favorite of quarterback Tyrod Taylor, who earned a surprising Pro Bowl nod in his first season as a starter.

Buffalo has some key free agents to retain, such as offensive linemen Cordy Glenn and Richie Incognito, and it could stand to make some moves on defense after a down year in that regard under head coach and defensive guru Rex Ryan.

Restructuring gives the Bills a lot more wiggle room, and one can only assume that Clay will oblige in an effort to help the franchise end its 16-year playoff drought, which is the longest active streak in major American professional sports.

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