As the second day of the legal negotiating window was open in the NFL for soon-to-be free agents, the most notable thing about the Buffalo Bills was their inactivity. The Bills didn’t make a single move for a new player Tuesday.
The only thing they did was agree to a three-year deal through 2028 with tight end Dawson Knox, likely to provide instant cap relief. However, the Bills clearly are not done adding to their roster, still with several needs to fill.
The new league year begins Wednesday at 4 p.m. ET, and the Bills aren’t likely to stay silent the rest of the week. As free agency shifts into Day 3 on Wednesday, here’s a look at who they could target, and some other news and notes from the Bills on Tuesday.
Remaining free agents who make sense for the Bills
The big fish
Edge/OLB Trey Hendrickson
We’re getting to the point in free agency where many of the team’s potential targets are gone, and with them having a significant need for an edge rusher, you can’t rule out Hendrickson. Hendrickson is No. 1 on The Athletic’s Top 150 free agents list. The Bills are cap-strapped, so the first question should be simple. Is it possible for them to make a deal work that could be in the high $20 million range per year? The answer is likely yes, given their setup, which adds some steam to the idea.
With Knox now under a reworked contract with additional years, it will likely dramatically reduce his 2026 cap hit from $17 million. The Bills can also save up to $12.56 million by doing a simple restructure of Josh Allen’s contract for this year, which should get them cap compliant. Then, once DJ Moore’s $24.5 million cap hit is added with the trade being made official Wednesday, they can do a simple restructure of his contract and save up to $17.8 million without adding void years to his deal. That $17.8 million should be enough to fit Hendrickson’s first-year cap hit as the Bills would likely structure it with a low base salary for 2026, a prorated bonus over five years (void years could be possible if the deal is fewer than five years) and then paying out an option bonus in the second year of the deal so it wouldn’t hit the 2026 cap sheet.
The quieter the Bills are in free agency, even for smaller moves, the more you could visualize them taking a big swing for a 31-year-old who has had a lot of production throughout his career. Keep in mind, when the Bills signed Von Miller in free agency in 2022, they were equally desperate for pass-rush help, and Miller was almost two years older than Hendrickson is now when he signed with the Bills. There will be other questions about his injury from last season and if he can still be the same player he was before it, but they could see it as a gamble worth taking in a go-for-it 2026.
Other edge rushers
K’Lavon Chaisson
Jadeveon Clowney
Al-Quadin Muhammad
Arnold Ebiketie
If the Hendrickson signing doesn’t happen, scaling back the search to more modest deals makes a lot of sense. Chaisson is a fit for the Bills’ new defensive scheme and showed some pass-rushing prowess last year with the Patriots, even if he isn’t an every-down player. Clowney always provides a great floor for the teams he plays for, and would immediately upgrade the position. Muhammad will be 31 at the start of the season, but is coming off a really good, productive season with the Lions and should be relatively cheap given his age and experience. Ebiketie, 27, would be more of a bet on talent to emerge with a bigger role in Buffalo and maybe on a more modest deal.
Safety
Nick Cross
Jaylinn Hawkins
Ar’Darius Washington
The Bills are thin at safety, and it would make sense to strike for a potential starter to pair with Cole Bishop for the next two seasons, until they need to give Bishop an extension. I think my favorite fit of the group is Cross, who is more of a box safety who specializes in run defending and blitzing, but would leave Bishop to roam the field and use his instincts to make game-changing plays. Cross hanging around on the board while other safeties have already signed could mean his market wasn’t quite what he was expecting, giving the Bills a potential chance to pounce.
Inside linebacker
Logan Wilson
A lot has come off the inside linebacker market. Potential Bills targets like Leo Chenal, Alex Singleton, Justin Strnad and Kaden Elliss are all under agreement with other teams. It might send the Bills into the draft looking for one, but they could get a veteran to help in the meantime. Wilson would be a lower-cost option, but one that Allen would have no problem vouching for, given they were teammates at Wyoming.
Nose tackle
Sebastian Joseph-Day
The younger, longer-term options like Khyiris Tonga and Roy Lopez are both off the board, but the Bills could get a solid season from Joseph-Day, who will turn 31 this month. Getting an experienced nose tackle to rotate in can take some pressure off second-year player Deone Walker and enable him to move around the defensive line.
Cornerback
Chidobe Awuzie
Roger McCreary
Tre’Davious White
There are others like them, but these are three of the stronger options. Awuzie turns 31 this offseason and likely won’t cost a ton, but he had a good year in 2025 and would be excellent depth on the boundary. If Maxwell Hairston doesn’t perform as well as they’d like, they could always go to Awuzie. McCreary is unique in that the Bills could have him as a depth option to the boundary spots and at nickel. With White, you can never rule him out when it comes to the Bills. White had a great end to his 2025 season and is still 31.
Wide receiver
Calvin Austin III
Christian Kirk
It really all depends on cost, but I like both Austin and Kirk for the Bills for different reasons. Austin, who turns 27 this month, is more of a speed threat and could bring some creativity with how they deploy him. Despite being a smaller player (5-foot-9, 162 pounds), he can win and separate on the outside with explosiveness, and could even push to be a starter if all goes well. There is versatility to play at slot receiver occasionally as well. Kirk is likely a lower-cost depth option, but he can give the Bills snaps both outside and inside with plenty of experience. Kirk is 29 years old.
Left guard
Joel Bitonio
The Bills saw left guard David Edwards sign with the Saints on a massive new contract, leaving a starting vacancy. They could always hold an open competition among those already on the roster, but Bitonio would be a tempting, lower-cost addition. He is most comfortable at left guard, and after spending his whole career with the Browns, at 34, he might favor a spot that could push for a Super Bowl.
Connor McGovern had high-profile contract liaison
Two days before the official window opened for teams to negotiate with soon-to-be free agents, the Bills quickly got the job done with starting center Connor McGovern. The two sides agreed to a new four-year, $52.4 million contract that will keep a key piece of their offensive line on the roster for the long term. McGovern met with reporters Tuesday to discuss the new deal. The center said he and his wife had a number in mind to stay in Buffalo, to which the Bills got him there. He also let it be known that one very prominent person helped get it over the line.
His star quarterback.
“It doesn’t hurt when you have 17 in your corner also trying to drive things through,” McGovern joked.
But Allen’s impact was very real.
“We’re always in contact, so he’s always checking up,” McGovern said. “And then last week, he called just to be like, just check in, just to make sure I was doing well before free agency, trying to give his two cents on everything, and then just got the ball rolling from there. And then he was talking to both sides.”
Now Allen gets to keep his starting center for the long term, and McGovern gets to remain in Buffalo, hoping not to leave in the first place. Just two days after McGovern agreed to terms, the Las Vegas Raiders signed free agent center Tyler Linderbaum to a three-year, $81 million deal — more than doubling the average value of McGovern’s new deal. Even though he declined on free agency, the Bills center is quite content with his new deal and not having to move his family from a place he said he loves living.
“I think $13 million is a whole hell of a lot of money. If me and my family can’t live off that, shame on us.”
Taron Johnson trade details
When the Bills sent out nickel Taron Johnson in a trade with the Raiders, they wound up turning one of their seventh-round picks into a sixth-round pick for the 2026 NFL Draft for a player they were intending to cut. It wasn’t straightforward, as the Raiders had two picks in the sixth round and the Bills had two picks in the seventh.
It wound up being the best possible swap of the picks the Bills could have gotten. According to a league source, the Bills got pick No. 182 — the top pick in the sixth round — while giving pick No. 228 back to the Raiders, which was the worst of the Bills’ two seventh-round picks.
Through both the Johnson and DJ Moore trades, the Bills maintained seven total draft picks. The team’s draft choices for 2026, once the trades become official, will be Nos. 26 (Round 1), 91 (Round 3), 126 (Round 4), 165 (Round 5), 168 (Round 5), 182 (Round 6) and 220 (Round 7).
The Bills received pick No. 165 along with Moore and gave up their second-round pick, No. 60, to get the deal done.