My "2021 State of the Bills" series continues with a look at the specialists as the team heads into the offseason:
Under contract:
• K - Tyler Bass
• LS - Reid Ferguson
Pending Free Agents:
• P - Corey Bojorquez (RFA)
State of the positions:
Of the three specialist spots on the Buffalo Bills roster, there’s no intrigue or drama with two of them. Kicker Tyler Bass and long snapper Reid Ferguson are very good at what they do, under contract, and entrenched in their spots for 2021.
Ferguson‘s salary cap number next year jumps to $1.14 million, good for seventh-highest amongst all NFL long snappers. But that’s not a steep price to pay at all for someone as good and consistent as he’s been since becoming their starter in 2017.
Ferguson was on the team’s practice squad the year before that, making him the only holdover from Rex Ryan’s regime into Sean McDermott‘s tenure other than defensive end Jerry Hughes.
How good has Ferguson been, exactly?
Since 2017, The Bills have attempted 549 punts, field goals, and extra points combined. Ferguson has snapped on every single one of them without a hitch. Zero errant snaps in 549 attempts, including 134 of them last season. That’s impressive.
Bass was drafted in the sixth round last year and all he did, as a rookie, was go out and break the franchise’s all-time single-season scoring record, with 141 total points, breaking Steve Christie's mark of 140 back in 1998. That total included making 28-of-34 field-goal attempts, including going 4-for-6 from 50 or more yards, and 8-of-9 between 40 and 49 yards. Bass also connected on 57-of-59 extra point attempts.
Bass missed some kicks early in the season. One, a field goal attempt opening week against the New York Jets, many felt was actually good, but was so high it went over the goalposts and was called no good by the officials. The same thing happened on an extra point later in the season against the Pittsburgh Steelers. There was another field goal and an extra point attempt in which it appeared holder Corey Bojorquez did not get the laces turned properly. That said, it's still on Bass to make the kicks.
However, from Week 8 through the end of the season, Bass was terrific, connecting on 16 of a possible 17 field goal attempts, with his only miss coming on a 61-yard try at the end of the first half against the Seattle Seahawks.
If his rookie year is any indication at all, Bass looks to be on track for a long and solid NFL career.
Bojorquez’s situation is an interesting one.
He is scheduled to become a restricted free agent. That means the Bills will have the right to submit him a minimum qualifying offer to retain his rights, and then match any other offers he receives from another club. But to do that, it will most likely cost more than $2 million. That figure would make Bojorquez one of the top-10 paid punters in the NFL by cash, and in the top half of the league in terms of salary cap hits in 2021.
The Bills will have to determine if he’s worth keeping at that price, or allowing him to become an unrestricted free agent and then attempting to re-sign him back at a lower rate. If they choose to go that route, Bojorquez would be free to sign with any other team, as well, and the Bills would not have the right to match.
Bojorquez has been with the team for two-and-a-half seasons. The first season-and-a-half he was very inconsistent. The Bills continued to bring competition into training camp or even working players out, but Bojorquez kept fighting them off and maintaining his job.
Then, he had a terrific 2020 campaign. He barely punted enough to even qualify for NFL statistical purposes, booting the ball only 41 times, the fewest for any regular punter in the league. But he made them count, finishing with the highest gross average in the league at 50.8. No other player even had a 48.0 average. He was fifth in net punting average at 44.0, and even tied for the longest punt in the NFL at 72 yards.
Was that enough of a body of work to justify giving him the qualifying offer and keeping him at the price it will take? That’s the decision the team is faced with. But if they choose not to do that, they may have to pay more for a veteran, anyway, or risk having a younger, less-experienced player at the position on a team that is trying to contend for a Super Bowl.
Bojorquez was part of a solid special teams unit overall and knows the coaching staff, philosophies, and expectations of McDermott and coordinator Heath Farwell. All of that added up would make me surprised if he’s not a part of the team again next season, however that shakes out financially.
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2021 State of the Bills:
- Quarterback
- Running back
- Tight end
- Wide receiver
- Offensive line
- Defensive tackle
- Defensive end
- Linebacker
- Cornerback
- Safety
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