The Buffalo Bills already won the NFL offseason, but they may not be done adding, at least one prominent league writer believes.
In a new column on ESPN.com, Bill Barnwell predicts the Bills will bring aboard two substantial veteran players after June 1: Tight end Zach Ertz and defensive tackle Kawann Short.
Ertz is entering the final year of his contract with the Philadelphia Eagles, but the price tag to acquire him could be low, considering the three-time Pro Bowler is coming off a down season. Barnwell surmises the Bills would only have to surrender a future seventh round pick and tight end Tommy Sweeney to land Ertz, who enjoyed five straight seasons of 74-plus catches from 2015-19.
That is what you call value.
Earlier this offseason, general manager Brandon Beane identified tight end as a position of need. But up to this point, the Bills have only added Jacob Hollister, who conceivably will slot behind Dawson Knox on the depth chart.
Ertz, 30, owns the highest cap hit at his position for 2021 ($12.7 million), which is problematic for Buffalo, considering the team only has less than $4 million in cap space. In order for a deal to happen, Ertz would almost certainly have to cut his salary to the $3-4 million range. Barnwell doesn’t think that would be a problem.
“Dealing a late-round pick and a player on the bottom of the roster in Sweeney for Ertz would give the Bills a well-regarded teammate and a player who was thought of as a premier tight end as recently as a year ago,” Barnwell writes. “With Ertz reducing his salary to $3.5 million as part of the deal, I love this low-risk, high-reward move for Buffalo.”
Josh Allen would enjoy a full array of weapons with Ertz on board, leaving the Bills with virtually no weaknesses on offense. Though Ertz’s disappointing 2020 is worrisome — he finished with a career-low 36 catches in 11 games — the Eagles were a dumpster fire last season. It’s fair to expect he would be rejuvenated in Buffalo.
On the defensive side of the ball, Barnwell thinks Short makes sense as a depth acquisition for several reasons, beginning with the fact he used to play for the Carolina Panthers. The Bills already have Star Lotulelei and a few other former Panthers players on the defense.
Though Short has missed 27 games over the past two years, Barnwell says he would be a solid depth signing — especially at a low price tag.
“Buffalo is where former Panthers go to revitalize their careers,” Barnwell writes. “The Bills may not really need another defensive lineman on paper right now, but at this price tag, the upside Short offered during his peak would be too valuable to pass up.”
The Bills acquiring both Ertz and Short would be an example of the rich getting richer, and give Beane more praise as a possible candidate for a second-consecutive Executive of the Year title.
As summer approaches, expect the Bills to keep looking for additions in preparation of an expected Super Bowl run.