The Buffalo Bills, led by general manager Brandon Beane, are working diligently to reduce surplus salary in order to meet the salary cap by this time next week. It’s been a busy day at One Bills Drive.
The most recent report that the Bills and edge rusher Von Miller have reached an agreement on a renegotiated contract that reduces Miller’s cap charge in half adds to the staggering number of player releases, many of whom were significant starters from the previous campaign. This isn’t a reorganization meant to postpone cap impacts; instead, Miller has accepted a compensation decrease that he can recoup by meeting particular targets. So what precisely did Miller and his group agree to?
Field Yates broke the story first, stating that “the deal has a base value of $8.855M in 2024, with the chance to make up to $20M with incentives (up from $17.5M under the old terms).” This is the crux of the news. “The move saves Buffalo $8.645M in 2024 salary cap space,” Yates continued.
The renegotiated agreement benefits Buffalo’s cap situation above everything else, but it’s hard not to question if Miller will use it as motivation to get back on track after a nearly silent 2023 campaign. Miller thought he would be out for a few weeks when he suffered an ACL injury during the Bills’ Thanksgiving Day 2022 game against the Detroit Lions. Weeks later, he received news that would terminate his season, and months later, he had to recuperate from ACL surgery.
During the team’s “home” game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in London in Week 5, Miller made a comeback, but it was evident that he was still having difficulty getting back to his pre-injury level. Later in the season, Miller would miss an additional game to recuperate from an apparent ongoing injury that was impeding his rehabilitation. Positively, he appeared to be making a comeback during the team’s two postseason games in January of last year.
The Buffalo Bills still need to make a few more moves to bring their compensation below the $255.4 million salary cap per team in 2024, but today’s flurry of cash-based movements cleared much of their surplus.
