Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) - While visiting with the "Howard and Jeremy Show" on Tuesday morning, Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane said his team would need to get creative in order to fit a big contract in free agency.
Several hours later, the Bills released linebacker A.J. Klein, creating $5.1 million in cap space.
Klein was set to count as a $5.576 million cap hit on the Bills' salary cap in 2022. Cutting him only results in a $400,000 dead cap figure.
In two seasons with the Bills, Klein was the team's third linebacker behind Tremaine Edmunds and Matt Milano, often only playing substantially when there was an injury.
In 31 games, Klein played over 50% of defensive snaps 14 times, although he played over a third of the team's special teams snaps as well.
Klein's biggest impact on the Bills came in the middle of the 2020 season when he rattled off five sacks in a five-game stretch.
His Pro Football Focus grade was 53.3 in 2021 and 46.1 in 2020. Both grades came underneath Bills depth linebacker Tyrel Dodson, who had a 57.9 in 2021 and a 52.3 in 2020.
The Bills now sit just north of $1 million over the salary cap.
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