The Buffalo Bills head into the 2024 offseason with massive salary cap issues. The team is currently projected to be more than $50 million over the cap before the free agency and the draft even start. That means pretty much all the Bills free agent signings this offseason have to be under-the-radar ones. Luckily for Buffalo, players like defensive back Jalen Mills, wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones, and center Andre James are out there as sneaky-good options.
General manager Brandon Beane is going to have to make some hard choices this summer. While renegotiating or re-upping stars like Josh Allen, Stefon Diggs, and Von Miller will help, the team may not be able to re-sign free agents like WR Gabe Davis or safety Micah Hyde. Additionally, high-priced veterans like C Mitch Morse and even cornerback Tre’Davious White could become cap casualties.
This means that the Bills have a lot of work to do in the draft, and they have to hit on at least starting-caliber players if not Pro Bowl-worthy prospects. They also have to find some value in free agency, as the top-level players are out of the question.
With that in mind, here are three sneaky good Bills free agent targets the team needs to sign in the 2024 NFL offseason.
WR Donovan Peoples-Jones
With Davis possibly gone in free agency this offseason, the Bills need to make a move to bolster their receiving corps. Khalil Shakir had an excellent season, especially toward the end with Davis out, which is one of the reasons the latter is expendable. And Stefon Diggs is — well, Stefon Diggs, but that’s another conversation for another time.
Drafting a wideout is a must, but the team needs to sign a few as well. While getting Mike Evans or Tee Higgins or Calvin Ridley would be great, Buffalo simply can’t afford those names.
The franchise needs to buy a cheap lottery ticket, and that player is Detroit Lions WR Donovan Peoples-Jones.
The Cleveland Browns drafted Peoples-Jones out of Michigan in the sixth round of the 2020 NFL Draft. He improved as a pass catcher in his first two seasons and looked like he had the famous third-year WR breakout in 2022 with 61 catches for 839 yards and three touchdowns.
However, 2023 did not go well with the QB carousel in Cleveland, and the Browns traded him to the Lions. In Detroit, he had just five catches for 58 yards in eight games.
Donovan Peoples-Jones hasn’t become the WR some think he can be, but playing with Deshaun Watson and the Brownettes and Jared Goff isn’t like playing with Josh Allen. Can Allen be the one to unlock this 6-foot-2, 212-pound wideout’s full potential? The Bills should sign him as a free agent and find out.
C Andre James
Mitch Morse is a good center. He made the Pro Bowl in 2022 and played all 17 games this season. That said, at 32 and making $11.4 million next season, Buffalo needs to cut him to save $8.4 million against the cap.
Again, the Bills should draft a center with one of their nine draft picks, seven of which come on Day 3 of the draft.
However, counting on a rookie to lead an offensive line is a dicey proposition for a team with championship aspirations. They need a solid veteran to at least push and compete with the rookie in training camp.
That veteran is the underrated Las Vegas Raiders center Andre James.
The Raiders’ O-line doesn’t get much love, but PFF ranked them the 10th-best unit in the league this season, just four spots behind the Bills. One of the reasons was that James had an excellent season, coming in as the ninth-best center in PFF’s individual player rankings. He was also one of just six snappers to come in with grades of 71 or above in both pass- and run-blocking.
James won’t be “cheap,” but he also won’t command as much as free-agent centers like Connor Williams or Aaron Brewer. So, Buffalo will have to cough up a little bit of cash here, but this is the spot they should splurge on, and Andre James is the player to grab.
DB Jalen Mills
With Micah Hyde a free agent, Tre’Davious White coming back from an Achilles tear and a possible cap cut, and 2022 first-round pick Kaiir Elam a possible bust, the Bills need to solidify the defensive backfield.
They kind of need a corner and definitely need a safety, so how about picking up someone who can play both?
Patriots D-back Jalen Mills can do it all. Last season, he lined up 106 times as a box safety, 136 times as a slot corner, and 159 times as a free safety. He even popped up as a wide corner or on the defensive line as a blitzer from time to time. Plus, he’s a solid special teamer who can return kicks and he blocked two kicks this season.
A versatile DB like Jalen Mills is just what the Bills need from their free agents, and Mills, who played on a one-year, $3.75 million deal last year, could be a perfect fit.
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