The Buffalo Bills came up short against the Kansas City Chiefs for the second season in a row in 2021. They spent much of the 2022 offseason working to ensure that wouldn't be the case this upcoming season.
The Bills were already a good team last season, but they made some really solid moves this offseason to help improve themselves pretty drastically. They are the surefire favorite to win the AFC East, and they may be the team to beat in the entire AFC as well.
Buffalo's offseason work was superb, but they made some highly questionable decisions along the way that could have a huge impact on their 2022 campaign, as well as their long-term future. Let's take a closer look at those two moves, and the repurcussions that may come as a result of them.
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Buffalo Bills worst offseason moves
2. Releasing Cole Beasley
Cole Beasley had a weird 2021 campaign with the Bills. He was coming off a second-team All Pro selection in 2020, and seemed poised for another big season working alongside Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs. Instead, he got phased out of the offense in favor of Gabriel Davis, and struggled to adapt to his new role.
It was a confusing development considering Beasley was coming off the best season of his career the in 2020. Rather than continue to improve, he was a forgotten man at times in the Bills offense. That led Beasley to request a trade off the Bills after the end of the season, but they ultimately just released him and ate $1.5 million in dead money instead.
Buffalo reportedly sought out a trade for Beasley and couldn't find anything, so in a way, releasing him makes sense. Taking on a dead cap hit hurts, but so does losing a talented wide receiver.
The Bills clearly plan to get Davis more involved in the offense after a breakout campaign in 2021, but after him there are some question marks. Jamison Crowder was brought in to replace Beasley, but he was pretty unproductive for the New York Jets last season. Isaiah McKenzie could also get more snaps, although he seemed to only want to show up when Buffalo played the New England Patriots.
Releasing Beasley will probably not be a huge mistake, but their management of one of their top wideouts is the more concerning piece here. Beasley had been a very productive slot option in Buffalo's option, but they ostracized him to the point where he asked for a trade. It may not be a huge loss, but replacing his production will be a challenge.
1. Signing Von Miller
Before I get mauled by Buffalo fans for this, it's important to note that Von Miller's presence on the Bills this season undoubtedly makes them a better team. Miller is still a premier pass rusher in the league, and Buffalo needed to significantly beef up their pass rush this offseason. Signing Miller will help accomplish that.
The problem is that the contract the Bills handed Miller is a massive overpay. Buffalo handed Miller a six-year, $120 million deal that he really couldn't turn down. Miller has publicly grappled with having to leave the Los Angeles Rams after just winning a Super Bowl with them, but who can really blame him for accepting this offer from the Bills?
Miller is good, yes, but he's not worth that type of money. Miller is already 33 years old, and there's a very good chance his decline has already begun. He's had back-to-back seasons without recording double digit sacks during the regular season, and while his 9.5 sacks in 2021 is nothing to scoff at, is that type of production worth $120 million?
Von Miller admittedly took things to another level in the playoffs, when he recorded four sacks in four games, but he was playing alongside Aaron Donald and Leonard Floyd, two very good pass rushers. The Bills have a solid front seven defensively, but Miller was the only player on it who even came close to reaching double-digit sacks last season.
Will Miller be able to replicate his production with the Rams on the Bills given that teams will probably go back to throwing double-teams at him? Given that he was already beginning to be worn down by double-teams during the end of his time with the Denver Broncos, that seeems like a risky proposition.
It's also worth noting that Miller will be 38 by the time he enters the final year of this deal. If this deal isn't an overpay now, it will be then. His production has already begun to drop off, and by the time he reaches the backend of this deal, there's a very good chance Miller will be a shell of himself.
The deal allows for Buffalo to get out after three seasons, but that doesn't ignore the fact that Miller will have a $13 million roster bonus in 2023 and a base salary of $17.145 million in 2024. There's a chance this deal could look bad by then. Von Miller makes Buffalo a better team currently, but there's a pretty good shot this deal will backfire quite spectacularly down the line, making it the worst move of Buffalo's offseason.
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