Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - My 2025 State of the Buffalo Bills series continues with a look at the offensive line:
Under contract:
- Dion Dawkins
- Spencer Brown
- Connor McGovern
- O’Cyrus Torrence
- David Edwards
- Alec Anderson
- Tylan Grable
- Ryan Van Demark
- Sedrick Van Pran-Granger
- Richard Gouriage
- Mike Edwards
- Travis Clayton
Pending free agents:
- Will Clapp (UFA)
Retired:
- Tommy Doyle
State of the position:
Typically, my State of the Bills offensive line is one of the longer articles I post each year. Obviously, merely because of the numbers at the position, but also because there are generally quite a few players whose futures are up in the air based on contractual situation.
That’s not the case this year.
This could be the shortest State of the Bills articles surrounding the offensive line I’ve done yet, because there are very, very few questions surrounding the position over the next several months.
Left tackle Dion Dawkins and right tackle Spencer Brown both played, arguably, the best football of their careers in 2024, and both are signed long-term. Dawkins is locked up through the 2027 season, and Brown through 2028.
Left guard David Edwards transitioned from the extra offensive lineman/jumbo package role in 2023 to starting left guard, where he played four seasons with the Los Angeles Rams. Edwards now enters the last year of his contract, just like center Connor McGovern.
McGovern moved from guard to center last offseason after the team released Mitch Morse, and the transition went as well as they could have hoped.
After an outstanding rookie season, O’Cyrus Torrence backed it up with another stellar sophomore year, and is under contract on his rookie deal for two more years.
That starting five shouldn’t change, and the sixth man who joins the group, Alec Anderson, is poised to be back in that same spot again in 2025 after re-signing a one-year deal. Anderson can play guard or center, and even tackle in a pinch.
The Bills have solid depth at tackle, too, with rookie Tylan Grable winning the swing tackle job out of training camp, beating out Ryan Van Demark, who they have really liked for a couple years. Both are set to return in 2025.
Richard Gouriage has spent the last two years on the team’s practice squad after signing as an undrafted free agent in 2023. Over those two seasons, he was elevated one time last year, and saw the field for three snaps in Week 11 against the Kansas City Chiefs.
He’ll also be in the mix once again, fighting for a backup tackle spot.
With McGovern entering the final year of his deal, having another year to develop Sedrick Van Pran-Granger could be very beneficial down the road. Van Pran-Granger was inactive opening weekend, then saw action in eight games, including getting the start in Week 18 against the New England Patriots.
The Bills could also use his first full NFL offseason to get him some reps at guard, considering how much they value position flexibility.
Mike Edwards (a guard, not the safety) spent all of last season on the practice squad after signing as an undrafted free agent. He re-signed to a reserve/future deal after the season and will return.
Travis Clayton, who is part of the league’s International program, has some terrific athletic traits, which was why they team used a seventh-round draft pick to select him last year. However, he was injured in training camp and stayed on Injured Reserve all season.
He should be healthy enough to be a part of offseason activities.
Veteran lineman Will Clapp provided insurance for the club when any interior lineman, or sixth-man Alec Anderson was dealing with an injury. He spent time both on the active roster and practice squad last season, but now the 29-year-old, who has played 66 games in his seven-year NFL career, will be an unrestricted free agent.
The Bills should be able to re-sign him to a minimum-type deal, if both sides are interested.
Unfortunately for Tommy Doyle, injuries took away most of his NFL career. After playing 11 games in 2021, then getting injured after one game in 2022, he came back only to have another severe leg injury early in 2023, which kept him out even all of last season.
Doyle announced his retirement from the Bills and pro football on Friday.
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