Bills’ intriguing OT on expiring contract labeled ‘contract to watch’ player

The feasibility of sustained success in any professional sport depends on a team’s ability to effectively recruit and develop prospects and its willingness to re-sign them when their respective contracts expire. It’s a (mostly) foolproof method that has clearly worked in several leagues; it’s a strategy that general manager Brandon Beane employed in the rebuilding Buffalo Bills, with the bulk of his now-consistently competitive team’s key contributors acquired via the NFL Draft.

The realities of the salary cap can sometimes be restrictive, however; Teams, while successful in recruiting and developing talent, simply cannot retain all of their players. This leads to frequent difficult personnel decisions by management; Beane will soon face an issue regarding right tackle Spencer Brown, who is entering the final year of his rookie contract after his best season as a professional.

Brown’s production has been generally mixed throughout his first two NFL seasons. The third-round pick out of Northern Iowa joined the starting lineup just weeks into his rookie season, providing much-needed edge off the bench before suffering a back injury after just a handful of appearances. He didn’t necessarily flash after his return, with those struggles extending into his sophomore campaign; he allowed 86 total quarterback pressures over his first two seasons, according to PFF, also taking 15 penalties.

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That put the tackle in an interesting position heading into his third professional season — no Buffalo fan was ready to completely write off the athletic new second-day draft pick, but he hadn’t necessarily done enough to earn unequivocal trust heading into the 2023 season. He effectively silenced the doubters, starting all 17 games at right tackle and not looking out of place on a Bills offensive line that’s been building its most consistent — and generally strongest — season in recent memory.

His recent strong play leaves Beane and the rest of Buffalo’s roster with an interesting decision: Should they try to get ahead of the proverbial curve now and extend the 26-year-old’s contract before he climbs even higher, or should they take the riskier route and let him enter the 2024 campaign as a pending unrestricted free agent? AthleticismTim Graham identified this dilemma as Buffalo’s most interesting contract situation, writing about it in a recent media article examining “a player’s contract worth watching for every NFL team.”

“One of the few question marks heading into last season was whether the 2021 third-round pick would deliver after a rough sophomore campaign,” Graham wrote. “Brown responded with authority, playing every one of Buffalo’s 1,305 snaps. Pro Football Focus graded him for just two more pressures than Pro Bowl left tackle Dion Dawkins.”

“Brown is now entering the final year of his rookie contract. The Bills will have significant cap space next year after receiver Stefon Diggs’ dead money is cleared, but they can save a lot by extending Brown over the next few months and not letting him get close enough of free agency to be curious to test the free market. .”

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As is the hallmark of any good general manager, Beane has a habit of “getting ahead” on contracts: he often extends players’ contracts. just Before taking a new step in their development, they take advantage of favorable financial markets while hiring players on long-term contracts that quickly look like bargains. Quarterback Josh Allen and defensive tackle Ed Oliver are recent examples; by that logic, it wouldn’t be hard to imagine the team extending Brown this summer.

As Graham mentions, Buffalo will soon see an increase in salary cap space thanks to the maneuvers it executed throughout the 2024 offseason; extending Brown is a financially feasible idea if the team identifies him as a part of its long-term core. It appears, however, that the Bills are preparing for life after Brown; the team selected athletic offensive tackles Tylan Grable and Travis Clayton in the sixth and seventh rounds of the 2024 NFL Draft, respectively, giving them developmental linemen who could develop into starters given time. Their presence in no way suggests a desire to move on from Brown, but they are intriguing insurance options.

Beane has handed out two major extensions in each of the past two summers (Dawson Knox in September 2022 and Oliver in June 2023); perhaps he’ll do the same with Brown in the coming months.

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