Brandon Beane made it very clear what his No. 1 priority is as the president of football operations and general manager of the Buffalo Bills.
“We have to protect Josh,” Beane said this week during an interview with The Buffalo News. “He’s our No. 1 asset.”
Re-signing Connor McGovern guarantees the Bills will return four of their five starters from last season on the offensive line.
Joshua Bessex, Buffalo News
Josh, of course, is star quarterback Josh Allen, and Beane is on the money. The Bills need to protect Allen as much as possible, because he is the biggest reason the team will compete for Super Bowls in years to come.
Being able to re-sign center Connor McGovern earlier this month was a huge victory for Beane, especially because the team feared losing both him and left guard David Edwards as free agents. Edwards departed for a lucrative contract with the New Orleans Saints, but McGovern reupped for four more seasons.
“Quite candidly, I didn’t feel great that we were going to get either one of them back,” Beane said. “I would say it was a relief. Sometimes you’re jumping for joy when you get a guy or get a trade. We were eating lunch in here when we got it done on Saturday and it was like, ‘Whew, we got Connor back.’ ”
Beane had gone home the night before thinking two-fifths of the team’s starting offensive line was about to walk out the door. That would have been a tough blow to overcome.
“I would crush myself if I didn’t put the right people in front of him,” Beane said of Allen.
Not to worry. McGovern’s extension, which is worth up to $52 million, not only ensures a good deal of continuity up front, it also comes at a team-friendly cost. His $13 million average annual value ranks No. 5 among centers in the league, but it’s a good bet he could have made more on the open market. McGovern has been a steady presence in front of Allen over the past two seasons. He's the third offensive lineman Beane has signed to a big contract extension, joining left tackle Dion Dawkins and right tackle Spencer Brown.
“It was a huge sigh of relief. The concern, naturally, was we’re going to lose both of them. That’s a legit concern,” head coach Joe Brady said. “Protecting Josh is the most important thing. I didn’t do a good enough job against Houston (during the 2025 season), but you see what it looks like if we’re not protecting, right? It doesn’t matter who your receivers are if Josh is on his back.”
McGovern is the leader of an offensive line that also paved the way for the No. 1 rushing attack in the NFL, so the importance of the group up front extends beyond just protecting Allen. McGovern also brings a leadership element to the locker room that would be hard to replace, especially after the offense has lost Edwards and fullback Reggie Gilliam this offseason.
Losing another leader in McGovern would have put even more leadership responsibility on Allen’s plate, and the quarterback doesn’t need that.
Re-signing McGovern and reaching a contract extension with tight end Dawson Knox means the Bills will return two veteran players who not only have plenty of experience in Brady’s offense, but can also take some of the leadership burden off of Allen.
The next step on the offensive line is figuring out what happens at left guard, the spot vacated by Edwards’ departure. The Bills also re-signed versatile offensive lineman Alec Anderson, and he’s an option to man the position.
Beane, though, said that he welcomes as much competition as possible up front, so another move – whether it be in free agency or the draft – shouldn’t be ruled out. The Bills have stayed mostly healthy up front the past couple seasons, but there is no guarantee that run of luck continues.
Veteran Joel Bitonio, who has been a great player for the Cleveland Browns, is an unrestricted free agent after his contract officially voided earlier this month. Bitonio has reportedly considered retirement, but if he wants to chase a championship ring on a short-term contract, the Bills could be a match.
“I said how important it is for No. 17 and so, yeah, we’re not handing out a job of left guard to anybody and I think that’s the best way to do it,” Beane said. “We do need to add more players there and we’re trying to find the best ones we can afford, whether that’s salary or where they fall in the draft.”
Bills offensive linemen O'Cyrus Torrence, left, and Connor McGovern protect quarterback Josh Allen during the
AFC wild-card playoff game against the Jaguars on Jan. 11 in Jacksonville, Fla. Harry Scull Jr., Buffalo News
On the other side of McGovern, nothing appears imminent as it relates to a possible contract extension for right guard O’Cyrus Torrence, who is heading into the final year of his rookie contract. Torrence has been as steady as they come since being chosen in the second round of the 2023 NFL draft, starting 50 of 51 games in the regular season.
“Love Cybo. Proud of what he’s done the first three years,” Beane said. “We told his agents, ‘Hey, we love him. At the right time, maybe there’s something to look at.’ I don’t think we wouldn’t have some discussion at some point.”
Beane, however, cautioned that he’s not yet sure what contract value Torrence’s camp has in mind, nor has he had the opportunity to get too far into what a possible extension would look like from the Bills’ side of the table.
Beane’s focus right now is on what’s left of free agency and preparing for next month’s NFL draft. Any extension for Torrence likely will have to wait until at least after the draft.