The Bills' Reggie Gilliam, one of the NFL's best fullbacks, was also a key contributor on special teams.
Harry Scull Jr., Buffalo News
With a champion finally crowned and every piece of confetti cleared from Levi's Stadium, the NFL offseason officially began Monday.
Work has been underway at One Bills Drive for weeks, though. Scouts have tracked draft-eligible prospects for months, if not years. The Buffalo Bills sent a contingent to the Senior Bowl last month to continue to evaluate talent. Joe Brady's defensive coordinator, Jim Leonhard, met with management and scouts to communicate his vision for the types of players they'll need for 2026.
Bills tight end Dalton Kincaid makes a catch for a touchdown against Broncos safety Talanoa Hufanga during the
AFC divisional round game on Jan. 17 at Empower Field in Denver. Joshua Bessex, Buffalo News
With the combine and free agency on the horizon, here's a breakdown of the important dates, free agents, key questions and team needs for the Bills:
Important dates
Feb. 9: Waiver period opens.Feb. 17-March 3: Franchise tag window (No candidates for Bills).
Feb. 23-March 3: NFL scouting combine, Indianapolis.
March 9–11: Early negotiating window for free agents.
March 11: The 2026 league year and free agency signing period begin at 4:00 p.m. ET. Teams can also begin to make trades.
March 29–April 1: NFL annual meeting, Phoenix.
April 6: Teams that hired a new head coach, including the Bills, may begin offseason workout programs.
April 17: Restricted free agent offer sheet deadline.
April 23–25: NFL draft, Pittsburgh.
May 1: Deadline for clubs to exercise fifth-year option for players selected in the first round of the 2023 draft.
May 19–20: Spring league meeting in Orlando, Fla.
June 1: Dead cap split.
June 15: Restricted free agent qualifying offer deadline.
July 15: At 4 p.m. ET, deadline for any team that designated a franchise player to sign a multiyear contract. After this date, the player may sign only a one-year contract for the 2026 season and cannot be extended until after the last regular-season game.
Cap space
The salary-cap ceiling for the 2026 season is not official yet, but Spotrac painted a picture of how much the Bills and other teams will have to spend. Using a projected ceiling of $303.45 million, Buffalo is $9.98 million over the cap.Free agents
Notable free agents, including their estimated market value, according to Spotrac: Edge rusher Joey Bosa ($13.7 million), defensive tackle DaQuan Jones ($1.78 million), center Connor McGovern ($16.3 million), defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi ($5.03 million), fullback Reggie Gilliam ($2 million), linebacker Matt Milano ($4.6 million), edge rusher A.J. Epenesa ($6.4 million), cornerback Tre'Davious White ($1.2 million), left guard David Edwards ($19.9 million), quarterback Mitch Trubisky ($4.4 million), linebacker Shaq Thompson ($2.4 million), wide receiver Brandin Cooks ($2.99 million), safety Cam Lewis ($1.5 million), safety Jordan Poyer ($1.3 million).Key question: Do Milano and/or Thompson fit in the Bills' vision for their 3-4 defense under Leonhard? Linebacker is arguably the team's biggest need during the offseason. Thompson exceeded expectations with a bounce-back performance after having missed most of the previous two seasons with injuries, but he missed five games in 2025 and played 59% of the defensive snaps. Though Milano played in all but five games, he had issues in pass coverage and took a while to overcome a pectoral injury.
Under-the-radar priorities: The Bills have to re-sign Gilliam and White. Gilliam, one of the NFL's best fullbacks, played a career-high 21% of the offense snaps because Brady used more "21" and "22" personnel groupings. In addition to blocking for the NFL's rushing champion in James Cook, Gilliam was a key contributor on special teams.
White, meanwhile, should be considered one of the NFL's comeback players of the year. It took him several weeks to find his legs, but White was a solid starter for the Bills. He'd be even better as a rotational player with Maxwell Hairston healthy. White is cheaper than top-of-the-market free agents and a respected leader on defense. You could also make a strong argument for Buffalo to bring back Cooks, who earned Josh Allen's trust and emerged as a leader on offense.
Tough call: Dawson Knox's cap hit for 2026 is $17.68 million. The Bills can't afford to pay him like a top-of-the-market tight end, so they'll either restructure his deal or cut him. If Buffalo cuts Knox before June 1, it would save $12 million and would take a $5.068 million dead cap hit.
Draft picks
The draft order became official Sunday night with the Seahawks' victory over the Patriots in Super Bowl LX. The Bills own seven selections, which will occur in the following order: first round (No. 26), second round (60), third round (91), fourth round (126), fifth round (166), seventh round (220, 228).Notable decision
One of the Bills' biggest offseason questions got answered when general manager and president of football operations Brandon Beane confirmed that he plans to pick up the fifth-year option for his 2023 first-round draft pick, tight end Dalton Kincaid.The key for Kincaid and the Bills is to create a plan that ensures he stays healthy. He emerged in 2025 as one of the best in the NFL at his position, averaging 14.6 yards per reception. Kincaid missed five regular-season games because of injury, and he played a career-low 38% of the team's offensive snaps. The PCL injury that bothered him in 2024 carried over into 2025. A second opinion agreed with the Bills' assessment that Kincaid does not require offseason surgery.
Is it a risk? Absolutely. But there's no denying Kincaid's impact. It is not a coincidence that the Bills went 11-3 in the regular season and playoffs when Kincaid was available. The question, however, is how much will Kincaid cost on a fifth-year option? It's not as bad as you may have expected. According to Over The Cap, Kincaid is expected to receive $8.89 million.
"If you just look at those things and the mismatch he can be, we need to keep him healthy," Beane said. "We need to make sure we armor him the best we can. I don’t see any reason why we wouldn’t pick that up, but we’ll probably do it later in the spring."
Needs
Several of the Bills' needs, in order of priority: linebacker, safety, edge rusher, wide receiver, nose tackle, interior offensive line (center and left guard, specifically) and backup quarterback. Luckily for Beane, the draft is supposed to be flush with talented linebackers and edge rushers. Do not be surprised if Buffalo picks a linebacker in the first round for the first time since Tremaine Edmunds in 2018.C.J. Allen (Georgia), Jake Golday (Cincinnati), Anthony Hill Jr. (Texas), Kyle Louis (Pitt) and Jacob Rodriguez (Texas Tech) are among the linebacker prospects to watch. The Bills have Greg Rousseau, Michael Hoecht and Landon Jackson to play outside linebacker for Leonhard, but the depth chart needs reinforcements to bolster their pass rush. Hoecht and Jackson are coming off season-ending injuries, plus Bosa and Epenesa are free agents. R. Mason Thomas (Oklahoma), Zion Young (Missouri), T.J. Parker (Clemson), Cashius Howell (Texas A&M) and Akheem Mesidor (Miami) are worth tracking with the combine near.
The Bills need to find a safety to start opposite Cole Bishop, plus they need some help behind Deone Walker at nose tackle. Beane will take another swing on a wide receiver – either through the draft or free agency – and he is prepared to target a veteran or two to compete for a starting job if Edwards and/or McGovern sign elsewhere.