The Buffalo Bills recently entered the offseason after suffering a brutal loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. The AFC Divisional Game kept NFL fans across the nation glued to their televisions up until the Chiefs' final overtime touchdown, leaving the Bills Mafia heartbroken. Despite the loss, the Bills had a great season, going 11-6 and leading the AFC East in the regular season.
There are three key players that contributed to this success that are now free agents. In order for the Bills to have another playoff run and potentially make it to the Super Bowl, these three players must be re-signed.
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Bills Free Agency Re-Signing
3. Emmanuel Sanders – Wide Receiver
Emmanuel Sanders just finished his 12th season in the NFL, but only his first year with the Bills. The Super Bowl champion and two-time Pro Bowler was on four teams before his career with the Bills, most recently the New Orleans Saints.
Before the 2021-2022 season, Sanders signed a 1 year, $6 million contract with Buffalo. The 34-year-old shows no signs of slowing down, and the Bills should capitalize on his talents before someone else does.
This season, the wide receiver had 42 receptions for 626 yards and four touchdowns. He was Josh Allen's third most popular offensive target behind Cole Beasley and Stefon Diggs.
2. Ryan Bates – Offensive Guard
On the younger side, Ryan Bates is an offensive guard that has a promising professional career ahead of him. Originally undrafted in 2019, Bates joined the Philadelphia Eagles during the offseason. He signed a 3 year, $1,755,000 contract with the Eagles, and was traded to the Bills in exchange for linebacker Eli Harold before the 2019-2020 season.
Bates had very limited game experience this year until the final stretch of the regular season and the playoffs. Bates played in 98.6 percent of the available offensive snaps from Week 16 to the AFC Divisional Round.
The 24-year-old guard is a great piece of the Bills roster and has the potential to be a leader on the offensive line in the upcoming years.
1. Levi Wallace – Cornerback
26-year-old Levi Wallace is the last free agent that the Bills must re-sign ahead of the 2021-2022 season. The young cornerback signed a 1 year, $1.75 million contract with the Bills for this season. He is now an unrestricted free agent.
Wallace was undrafted in the 2018 NFL Draft and signed a three-year contract with Buffalo during the offseason. During his four seasons with the team, the cornerback has recorded 219 tackles, one fumble recovery, 30 pass deflections, and six interceptions. This season alone, Wallace recorded 58 tackles, two interceptions, and ten deflected passes.
The Bills vs Chiefs AFC Divisional Round made it pretty clear that NFL offenses are continuing to get more and more powerful each season. With that in mind, the Bills should prioritize defense by signing a long-term extension with Wallace. He is effective in blocking passes and even intercepting them, which goes a long way in modern-day football.
Fortunately for the Bills, they don't have to find many talents outside of their organization, as long as they ensure that their promising free agents don't sign a deal somewhere else.
(All contract information credited to Spotrac.com)
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