Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) - My 2024 "State of the Bills" positional series continues with a look at the offensive line:
Under contract:
- Dion Dawkins
- Mitch Morse
- Spencer Brown
- Connor McGovern
- O’Cyrus Torrence
- Ryan Bates
- Ryan Van Demark
- Alec Anderson
- Tommy Doyle
- Richard Gouriage
- Kevin Jarvis
Pending free agents:
- David Edwards
State of the position:
Normally, in this spot, I'll write about several offensive linemen who are about to become free agents and how the Bills are going to try to replace them.
Not this year.
It’s pretty remarkable to look at the roster and see only 1-of-12 players in the group on an expiring contract.
That one player is Edwards, who filled a nice role as the extra offensive lineman last year when the team wanted to get a little bigger. Edwards actually played 13% of the offensive snaps, almost all of them as an extra lineman/tight end.
Another team may view him as a starting option and pay him more money, but otherwise, I wouldn’t be surprised if he comes back to Buffalo on another one-year deal.
Not only is virtually the entire position group under contract for 2024, but they were also extremely healthy in 2023.
Here are the snap counts for the starters :
- LT - Dion Dawkins: 96%
- LG - Conner McGovern: 98%
- C - Mitch Morse: 97%
- RG - O’Cyrus Torrence: 100%
- RT - Spencer Brown: 99%
That’s pretty remarkable.
Dawkins may have had his best season as a pro, Brown certainly did, and Morse was rock solid in the middle. All are entering the final year of their respective contracts.
Dawkins will turn just 30-years-old in April. He’s scheduled account $16.6 million on the team’s salary cap for the season.
At his age and level of play, the Bills may want to extend Dawkins now and reduce some of that cap hit with the structure of the deal.
Brown will be entering the final year of his rookie deal. He will turn 25-years-old on Feb. 25.
He also will eventually be an extension candidate, but his $1.51 million salary cap hit for 2024 is a great bargain for the team.
Morse is, yet, another offensive lineman who played some of his best football last season, and is going into the final year of his deal. He’ll be 32-years-old in April.
While centers can often play at a solid level into their mid-30s, the Bills will may want to decide if they are comfortable with giving Morse an extension to lower his $11.5 million cap hit, release him and save $8.5 million, or let him play out the final year of his deal as-is.
It’s very rare for any player to play every single snap of a team’s season. It’s even more rare for a rookie. That’s exactly what Torrence did at right guard.
The 2023 second-round pick looks to have a very bright future in Buffalo.
Free agent acquisition McGovern was a steady presence at left guard all season, and has two years remaining on his deal. However, his salary cap hit moves from $4 million last year to $7.9 million in 2024.
Bates is an incredibly versatile lineman. He’s mainly an interior swingman, but able to play all five positions in a pinch. That versatility hurts his chances to be a starter since the team loves him being able to come off the bench for anyone, if needed.
It’s also a give-and-take, as far as contract value. Bates’ cap number will grow to $5.44 million in 2024, and only played 35 total snaps last year because the group stayed so healthy.
Bates is a nice player to have for his versatility, but that’s a steep price to pay for such little playing time. It’s a bit of a Catch-22 for the team.
The team also has Anderson waiting in the wings. He’s similar to Bates, as far as versatility, and costs less than $1 million in 2024. That will be the final year of his deal, but then he will be an Exclusive Rights Free Agent.
Anderson has yet to play a snap in the NFL, but looked very capable during the preseason last year. The Bills feel very good about his future, as they do the same about Van Demark, who is in the exact same contractual situation.
Van Demark can play both right and left tackle. Maybe he’s a replacement for either Brown or Dawkins at some point. Maybe he’s a primary backup for the next several years. Either way, the Bills are high on him, he’s young, and under cost control.
Doyle had his season end far too prematurely when he suffered a knee injury near the end of the preseason, a year after only playing one game due to a similar injury.
At 6-foot-8, 326 pounds, he’s a terrific athlete for his size. Now he’s faced with the challenge of overcoming those injuries, while trying to crack the roster.
He’s entering the final year of his deal at a salary cap cost of $1.13 million.
Gouriage and Jarvis both spent the season on the Bills' practice squad, then signed Reserve/Future deals to return to the club and compete for spots.
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