The Buffalo Bills have found themselves in dire need of cap space. In turn, they’ve had to remodel much of their defense and will make sacrifices on offense, sending center Mitch Morse to free agency, trading Ryan Bates, and all but guaranteeing receiver Gabe Davis hits the open market.
They are paying the piper on quarterback Josh Allen’s massive contract, which is par for the course of elite quarterback play, but will require general manager Brandon Beane to get creative as free agency looms.
Fortunately for Buffalo, players have been considerate, sacrificing value on already established contracts.
On Monday, prior to the legal tampering period kicking off, Bills tight end Dawson Knox reworked his deal to free up additional cap space.
“The Bills and tight end Dawson Knox have agreed to a reworked contract that lessens his $14.4M cap hit this year, per source,” Jeremy Fowler tweeted. “More needed space for Buffalo.”
The Bills entered the day with the third-least cap room in football, ahead of only the Los Angeles Chargers and rival Miami Dolphins, who will likely be making large sacrifices of their own this offseason.
This gives them a little more breathing room, and it may have opened the door to another move. Shortly after Knox’s adjustment, Buffalo extended long-time left tackle Dion Dawkins to a three-year, $60.5 million extension, most likely alleviating his cap hit for this coming season.
Given that simply restructuring his deal wouldn’t have required Knox’s permission, this is probably a pay cut with incentives that are inherently cap-friendly. A similar process helped manage the albatross contract of veteran edge rusher Von Miller.
Knox saw his role in the offense decline in 2023 after first-round rookie Dalton Kincaid became a major factor in the offense. He was also hurt, missing five games with a wrist injury. In total, he caught 22 passes for 186 yards and two scores this past season, a sharp decline from back-to-back 500-yard campaigns.
Perhaps this was the best way for Buffalo to retain Knox’s talents past this upcoming season while granting itself cap flexibility.
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