How should the Buffalo Bills use their remaining salary cap space?

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — We’ve made it to June, which means the Buffalo Bills have some money to spend.

According to Spotrac, the Bills now have $10.1 million in cap space following the post-June 1 release of former All-Pro cornerback Tre’Davious White. The move freed up $10 million in cap space this season, giving the Bills some flexibility as we get closer to the start of training camp.

But what could the Bills do with the extra cap space? Well, let’s do some numbers.

At this point in the season, only the salaries of the top 51 players on the Bills’ roster count toward their salary cap. That said, the Bills need to sign their rookie picks, which will cost them around $3 million. But not all of these draft picks will have contracts with a higher cap hit than some of the other players already on the team. So, essentially, the Bills will have more money to spend than the simple math suggests ($10 million (cap space) – $3 million (rookies)). So for a rough estimate, let’s say the Bills had about $8 million in cap space as of June 3.

General manager Brandon Beane could take two different approaches, both of which seem feasible.

The first is to simply save money for a rainy day. Perhaps he wants to keep cap space open for a potential addition closer to the regular season, or as insurance in case of a potential injury. But saving money isn’t the most fun option for fans to speculate on.

The other option is to find a player or two who could help improve the Bills’ depth chart. As much as I like Greg Rousseau and AJ Epenesa, I have no idea what to expect from Von Miller in 2024. With few veterans on the roster, I think the money could be used for a player like Yannick Ngakoue or Carl Lawson. Neither player is expected to command a big deal, but would give the Bills another viable option heading into the season.

Lawson hasn’t had a single sack in 2023, so perhaps he’s looking for a short-term deal to try to reestablish himself as a viable pass-rushing option and land another contract down the road. Ngakoue is no longer the force he once was, but he is a competent fourth guy behind Rousseau, Miller and Epenesa.

The Bills could also target another cornerback if they don’t trust Kaiir Elam to be their primary backup on the boundary. There are still quality free agent cornerbacks out there, but the Bills probably wouldn’t target anyone to replace Rasul Douglas or Christian Benford. The only other position I could see them targeting is left guard, but they seem happy with David Edwards.

They also have to wait for a decision from Micah Hyde. I can’t imagine Hyde will get a big deal if he decides to play in 2024, but he won’t be playing for free.

In a year where the Bills have done everything they can to keep their salary cap healthy going forward, I can’t imagine this is the time the front office will start getting reckless. Expect a few more additions, but I’m not counting on a blockbuster anytime soon.