Which Buffalo Bills players could be on the salary cap chopping block?
As the Buffalo Bills enter the 2025 offseason, the organization faces critical roster decisions. NFL teams must have their top 51 players under the salary cap by the start of the new league year: March 12th at 4pm. With the NFL’s salary cap projected at $275 million (per Spotrac), the Bills are approximately $12 million over the cap.
An analysis of the Bills’ 2025 salary cap situation identifies several potential moves to clear cap space. Organizations can release players, restructure a player’s contract, trade a player, and extend eligible players – all which could potentially result in current cap savings, but almost all moves also carry with it dead cap, to be realized now or in the future.
Over the next few days, we will look at some different options available to the Bills in each category.
Potential Buffalo Bills roster cuts
To address the cap overage, the Bills may consider releasing several veteran players. Not too many names have been discussed as release candidates this year but let’s dive into the few you probably have seen or heard of.
Von Miller (EDGE)
Miller is probably the most logical and easiest roster decision this offseason. Miller is due for a $23.8 million cap hit in 2025. Releasing him will save the team just north of $8 million.
Other options that involve Miller include another negotiated pay cut similar to last year. Since releasing Von carries with it a $15.4 million dead cap hit, the Bills could negotiate a reduction in Von’s contract that would keep him on the team while still saving the Bills some money. Since Von’s contract is non-guaranteed, he might be willing to negotiate down from his $17.1 million base salary once again and play an incentive-laden contract. Saving the Bills a similar amount of cap space as a release would. The question here is what is a 36-year-old Von Miller worth – and is that “worth” more valuable playing somewhere else.
Personally, I prefer a release with a post June 1st designation. This limits what the Bills can do with the savings until after June 1, but the dead cap is spaced out over the 2025 season and 2026 season. The savings are substantial, at over $17 million; the Bills could make a serious post June 1 move via trade or free agency with those savings.
Dawson Knox (TE) and Matt Milano (LB)
These two are being grouped together because so many people are talking about them as “cut candidates”, but whether or not that is realistic is what is up for discussion. Both have dead cap hits that would affect the salary cap space NEGATIVELY and produce no savings in 2025 as their dead cap is higher than their actual 2025 cap hits if on the team.
Releasing Knox would dig into the cap space by an additional $6.6 million because a chunk of his 2025 salary is already guaranteed. The Bills will pay it anyway.
A Milano release would eat another $1.1 million in space OVER and ABOVE his current cap hit. Most people discussing these two cuts don’t understand this. This means it cost the Bills organization more cap space for these two players to NOT play for the team this season.
With that being said, I would never put it past this Bills front office to make moves like this. Last year the Bills took a significant hit in trading Stefon Diggs to the Houston Texans, with his dead cap hit being more than his salary cap hit was.
More realistic moves surrounding Milano and Knox could be asking Milano take a pay cut and structure his contract based off playing time and incentives since his last two seasons he hasn’t been on the field much like Von Miller did last year.
Knox’s contract would more than likely be better served as a restructure or as a trade.
Mitchell Trubisky (QB) or Mike White (QB)
With the Bills signing Mike White at the end season, Trubisky’s time with the Bills could be over yet again. Releasing Trubisky carries a $750,000 dead cap hit but saves the Bills $2.5 million. Mike White on the other hand doesn’t have any dead cap hit and would save $1,195,000 if released. The Bills could grab a QB in the draft or a free agent for the practice squad and if at any point they need the extra cap space, there is an easy out in releasing White.
Other pre-June 1st release worthy numbers to report
DaQuan Jones
– Dead Cap $7,632,000
– Cap Savings $1,776,000
A.J. Epenesa
– Dead Cap $4,148,000
– Cap Savings $3,339,000
David Edwards
– Dead Cap $875,000
– Cap Savings $4,030,000
Tyler Bass
– Dead Cap $3,060,000
– Cap Savings $1,610,000
Sam Martin
– Dead Cap $400,000
– Cap Savings $1,885,000
We will explore later in the week whether or not trades, extensions, or restructurings would be more suitable for some of the names dropped today.