Bills have offseason needs to address with little to spend

After three straight offseasons of making big splashes in transforming Bills into AFC contenders, Brandon Beane isn’t making any big promises this year.

Though Bills have needs , with general manr specifically emphasizing a desire to bulk up Buffalo’s defensive line and improve a sputtering running attack, Beane stressed he’s going to have to be more creative — and frugal.

Like many NFL teams, Bills will have less room to maneuver because NFL's salary cap is expected to shrink as a result of coronavirus pandemic.

Beane said Bills already have close to $175 million committed to salaries next season, which is near lowest projection of where cap could be set once league's new business year begins in March.

“This is t going to be a free ncy that we can be aggressive,” Beane said, in an hour-long, season-ending video news conference on Wednesday. “We’ll fill in here and re some holes. But I would t anticipate any blockbuster moves.”

He's enjoyed many of those over a series of franchise-altering moves which began with Buffalo trading up to select quarterback Josh Allen in first round of 2018 draft, followed by signing receivers Cole Beasley and John Brown in free ncy a year later, and ending with acquisition of receiver Stefon Diggs in a trade with Minnesota in March.

moves were critical in building foundation of a team that enjoyed a breakthrough season in which Buffalo (15-4) won its first AFC East title in 25 years and appeared in its first conference championship since 1994.

And yet, Bills received a sobering reminder of how much still separates m from reaching Super Bowl following a 38-24 loss to defending champion Kansas Chiefs on Sunday.

“y’re gold standard,” Beane said, referring to Chiefs. “y were clearly better than us. We definitely have work to do.”

Last offseason, following a 22-19 overtime loss at Houston in a wild-card playoff, Beane placed a priority on scoring more points, which led him to acquire Diggs for a first-round draft pick.

move paid off immediately, with Bills setting a team record by scoring 501 points and Diggs becoming Buffalo’s first player to lead NFL in catches (127) and yards receiving (1,535).

This offseason, Beane cited loss to Chiefs as exposing Buffalo’s season-long deficiencies in being unable to consistently run ball, and an undersized defensive front that had difficulty stopping run and pressuring quarterbacks.

“Maybe a little more balance of run game, and I’m t saying run it 20 times, throw it 20 times,” Beane said. “I’m just saying ability to run it when you have to.”

Take away Josh Allen’s 88 yards rushing on Sunday, and Bills mand just 41 against KC. Overall, Buffalo topped 100 yards rushing just nine times, including playoffs, this season, after doing so 13 times in 17 games previous year.

Beane was careful to t fix blame solely on running backs Devin Singletary and rookie Zack Moss, who missed final two games with an ankle injury, by saying it was an overall team issue. Buffalo’s offensive line spent much of season in flux as a result of injuries and production.

As for defensive line, Beane said: “We were probably still a little light for my comfort.”

Bills were forced to retool ir front after losing Jordan Phillips in free ncy and with top run-stuffing tackle Star Lotulelei unexpectedly opting out for COVID-19 reasons in July. lack of size led to linebackers Tremaine Edmunds and Matt Mila having to fight through more blockers to stop run.

Coach Sean McDermott expressed similar concerns a day earlier by immediately saying, “we’ve got to be able to run football better.”

As for defense, he expected a drop-off in production based on offseason personnel losses and focus Buffalo placed on improving its offense and special teams. And yet, McDermott ackwledged defense failed at times to play a complementary role.

Beane declined to get into specifics on contract-related issues regarding pending free nts or when he might open negotiations with Allen, who is entering fourth year of his rookie contract. Buffalo also has right to retain Allen through 2022 season by picking up his fifth-year option this spring.

Allen is coming off a season in which he set numerous franchise scoring and passing records, and finished fourth in NFL with a 69.2 percent completion rate, which marked a 10.4% jump over last year.

Mila is Buffalo’s most high-profile player eligible to enter free ncy this offseason, followed by starting offensive linemen Jon Felicia and Darryl Williams.

“We’d love to be able to get Mila back. He kws that,” Beane said, while ting player has missed time because of injury in each of his past three seasons, including five games this year. “re’s going to be some tough decisions unfortunately for us, wher it’s letting guys go on this roster or having to watch guys leave.”

Im credits: AP