Siran Neal was far from the Buffalo Bills' highest profile player with an expiring contract. He also was far from being the least important piece to their 2022 puzzle.
That's why they reached an agreement with the reserve cornerback and special-teams standout on Wednesday for three more years.
A fifth-round draft pick by the Bills in 2018, Neal finished with a career-high 12 special-teams tackles, good for second on the team in 2021.
Over the last four seasons, Neal has produced 35 tackles, forced three fumbles and recovered two fumbles on special teams. On defense, he has 48 tackles, including four tackles for loss and one sack.
Locking up Neal is one of many important housekeeping steps the Bills must take to maintain a strong roster. They already re-signed another important special-teams player in linebacker Tyrel Dodson. But they could be looking at the departures of valuable pieces such as cornerback Levi Wallace, guard Ryan Bates, wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie and defensive tackle Harrison Phillips.
The cornerback position could be especially vulnerable if Wallace, a starter, leaves, and Tre'Davious White doesn't bounce back quickly enough from a torn ACL suffered in late November.
Here is the list of their pending free agents heading into the new league year, which begins next month:
CB Levi Wallace
DE Jerry Hughes
DE Mario Addison
DE Efe Obada
DT Vernon Butler
DT Justin Zimmer
DT Harrison Phillips
G Ike Boettger
G Ryan Bates
WR Isaiah McKenzie
WR Emmanuel Sanders
WR Jake Kumerow
QB Mitchell Trubisky
RB Taiwan Jones
RB Matt Breida
T Bobby Hart
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