Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) - As the Buffalo Bills look towards free agency and the NFL Draft, my 2023 "State of the Bills" position-by-position series continues.
Here’s a look at the defensive tackles:
Under contract:
- Ed Oliver
- Tim Settle
- DaQuan Jones
- Eli Ankou
- Brandin Bryant
- Cortez Broughton
Pending Free Agents:
- Jordan Phillips
State of the position:
Oliver is about to play on his fifth-year option, guaranteeing him $10.753 million per-year. When the Bills exercised that option a couple offseasons ago, it didn’t look like it would be the issue it is now.
That issue is Oliver hasn’t had nearly the production they had hoped for, and the team can’t justify giving him an extension to lower the number either.
Oliver’s ability, along with the fact that the contract is guaranteed, also completely eliminates any chance he would be released. In that scenario, the Bills would have to eat every bit of that nearly $10.8 million against their salary cap. There would be no savings at all.
At times throughout his first four seasons, Oliver has been dominant. Even last year he showed some flashes in the pan. However, his production was clearly impacted by the loss of Von Miller on the outside, allowing teams to focus more on him in the interior.
Oliver finished last season with just 2.5 sacks, the lowest of his career, while also missing three games with an ankle injury.
If the Bills could off-load his salary and trade Oliver, that might be an intriguing option. However, another team would have to be willing to take on that deal with one year remaining, or already know they will work out an extension, which seems unlikely. That doesn’t mean general manager Brandon Beane won’t make calls.
So it looks like Oliver and the Bills are married to each other for, at least, one more season at that salary and cap figure. Both the player and team would be well-served by him having a huge season.
When the team signed Settle as a free agent last offseason, I really thought he was going to have a much bigger impact than he did. Settle only played 35% of the defensive snaps, and when he was on the field, wasn’t much of a difference maker, collecting just one sack and 19 total tackles.
Settle is under contract for one more season at a cap hit of $4.945 million. The team can release him and save $2.245 million of that, but it would come with a dead money hit of $2.7 million this year and $1.35 million next year.
It doesn’t seem likely, but possible if they really need the space.
Jones, on the other hand, was a very big difference maker in the interior, especially against the run. This was no more evident than in the team’s playoff loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. It was the only game all season Jones missed, and the Bengals had a huge day running the ball, totaling 172 yards on 34 carries.
Jones is under contract for 2023 and will cost the Bills $8.583 million against the salary cap. A pretty hefty number, but he proved to be a very important player.
Phillips is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent following his second stint with the team.
While he didn’t have the same impactful numbers he did a few years ago in Buffalo, collecting 20 total tackles and just one sack this time around, he was still a solid presence on the inside when healthy.
Unfortunately, Phillips dealt with a couple different injuries throughout the season, including a significant shoulder injury late in the year, and missed four games.
A return to Buffalo can’t be counted out, especially considering he probably won’t command too much on the open market.
Ankou was injured to start the 2022 season, but stayed on the practice squad. He was not active for any regular season games, but suited up for both playoff games, playing 46 total snaps over the two contests.
He’s a big body who can help against the run.
Bryant was with the Bills to start the 2022 season, playing three games. He was later waived by Buffalo and signed by the Houston Texans. After spending a few weeks there, he was, again, released and returned to Buffalo, splitting time on the active roster and practice squad.
Broughton was signed to the team’s practice squad in December.
All three players signed Reserve/Future deals at the end of the season and will return to training camp to fight for roster spots once again.
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