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Bills' Updated Salary Cap After Releasing Tre'Davious White, Jordan Poyer, More

Timothy Rapp@@TRappaRTX.com LogoFeatured Columnist IVMarch 6, 2024

ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 26: Tre'Davious White #27 of the Buffalo Bills and Jordan Poyer #21 tackle Terry McLaurin #17 of the Washington Football Team during the first quarter of the game at Highmark Stadium on September 26, 2021 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Joshua Bessex/Getty Images)
Joshua Bessex/Getty Images

The Buffalo Bills made a series of cost-cutting moves on Wednesday in an effort to get under the salary cap next season, releasing safety Jordan Poyer, center Mitch Morse, cornerback Tre'Davious White, defensive back Siran Neal, wide receiver Deonte Harty and running back Nyheim Hines.

The moves are expected to eventually save the team somewhere in the vicinity of $36-37 million on the cap sheet, per multiple reports:

Adam Schefter @AdamSchefter

The Bills' cuts of S Jordan Poyer, C Mitch Morse, CB Siran Neal, WR Deonte Harty, and RB Nyheim Hines will create approximately $25.96M in salary cap space.<br><br>Buffalo entered the day $40M over the cap.<br><br>The release of Tre'Davious White will open up another $10.2M, but only after… <a href="https://t.co/XappVwclC0">https://t.co/XappVwclC0</a>

Jay Skurski @JaySkurski

According to <a href="https://twitter.com/gggaughan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@gggaughan</a>, the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Bills?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Bills</a>' cuts today have opened up an estimated $37.4 million in salary cap space.

Spotrac @spotrac

The <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Bills?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Bills</a> netted $25.1M of cap space today when factoring in:<br><br>RELEASED<br>Jordan Poyer, Mitch Morse, Nyheim Hines, Deonte Harty, Siran Neal<br><br>SALARY CONVERSION<br>Rasul Douglas<br><br>SIGNINGS<br>David Edwards, Matt Haack<br><br>BUF will open up $10.2M more in June when Tre' White's release becomes…

The roster gutting won't completely get the team under the salary cap, though restructuring the contract of superstar quarterback Josh Allen could get the team the rest of the way there:

Spotrac @spotrac

A full base salary + roster bonus conversion to signing bonus for QB Josh Allen can now open up enough cap space ($22.7M) for the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Bills?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Bills</a> to be cap compliant next week.<br><br>That doesn't mean more moves aren't imminent, but there's a clear path for Buffalo to get in the positives.

And more roster relief came after the glut of cuts, as Von Miller agreed to a restructured deal with the team, per ESPN's Field Yates:

Field Yates @FieldYates

The Bills and pass rusher Von Miller agreed to a renegotiated contract, per source.<br><br>The deal has a base value of $8.855M in 2024, with the chance to make up to $20M with incentives (up from $17.5M under the old terms).<br><br>The move saves Buffalo $8.645M in 2024 salary cap space.

Buffalo faced the reality that many contending teams have to endure once the star quarterback is onto his second contract—eventually, it becomes difficult to find money for other positions on the roster, especially if you are paying big money to retain other stars.

In that regard, the Bills will not be the only team forced to face some difficult decisions this offseason from a cap perspective.

Bill Barnwell @billbarnwell

3/4s of the core Bills secondary from the McDermott era out the door. Bills really went for it in 2022-23 with the Von Miller signing and injuries at the wrong time cost them. <a href="https://t.co/4jFdjoI8rz">https://t.co/4jFdjoI8rz</a>

Gregg Rosenthal @greggrosenthal

It felt like the end of an era when Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde did their presser together after the loss to KC. Other than Josh Allen, that tandem has defined the McDermott era to me

Matt Verderame @MattVerderame

Just walked out of a meeting and the Bills are basically having an everything-must-go, out-of-business sale.<br><br>Not stunning but still, lots of big names

Pete Prisco @PriscoCBS

Bills getting rid of a lot high-priced guys who can be replaced and some with injury issues. That's the NFL.

On a personal level, it's surely a tough day in the organization. From a business and roster-building perspective, some of Wednesday's cuts will hurt more than others.

White, 29, is a two-time Pro Bowl cornerback and one-time All-Pro selection, but injuries have cost him 30 games over the past three seasons. Talented as he is, it becomes tough for a team to devote a large chunk of its financial resources to a player who misses well over half the games in a three-year period.

Poyer, 32, was a first-team All-Pro selection in 2021 and a Pro Bowler in 2022, and he had another strong season in 2023, notching 100 tackles and four passes defensed across 16 games. But given his age, he was a risk to regress in 2024 and made sense as a cap casualty.

Morse, 31, was a Pro Bowler in 2023 and started all 17 games for the team last season. Outside of the very elite options, however, centers aren't generally as valued as other positions on the roster.

Chris Trapasso 🏈 @ChrisTrapasso

On <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Bills?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Bills</a> moves<br><br>Morse: Age + injuries + $, I would've kept Bates tho 👍🏼👍🏼<br>Neal: Too expensive for STer 👍🏼👍🏼<br>Harty: IMO could be useful but never used him 👍🏼<br>White: Very good but so much uncertainty with injuries 👍🏼<br>Poyer: Age + $ + injuries 👍🏼<br>Hines: Costly for niche player 👍🏼👍🏼

Those were the three biggest decisions, with players like Neal, Harty and Hines serving as more niche options for the team. But the Bills may also lose a number of free agents, including wideout Gabe Davis, defensive end DaQuan Jones and defensive ends Leonard Floyd and A.J. Epenesa.

It's not all doom and gloom for the team, but it will need to nail the draft and find breakout options in the free agency bargain bin this offseason. General manager Brandon Beane set those expectations in January.

"I don't think you're going to see any splashes," he told reporters regarding free agency. "Even if I found something that was exciting to me, I don't think it would fit within our cap parameters. I think everyone needs to understand that we're going to be shopping at some of those same stores we were shopping last year. We're not going to be on Main Street of New York City or whatever all those high-end shopping centers are. It's not feasible to where we're at."