Rasul Douglas and Amari Cooper are among the notable names set to hit free agency.
www.nytimes.com
The NFL offseason is creeping closer to its first big event on the calendar — the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine. In a little over one week, the Bills’ scouting staff and many of their coaches will head to Indianapolis to collect information on the upcoming prospects.
Although the draft is the event’s headline, the real undercurrent of the week is how the free agent market will form across the league. It’s a time for decision-makers to gauge the market on their free agents and the potential price tags on external free agents. The start of free agency and the new league year begins on March 12.
With that focus on upcoming free agents, the Bills will look hard at their upcoming group of expiring contracts. Although it’s not a heavy-hitting group for the Bills, it still takes a hit to some of their core depth pieces.
Who are the top Bills free agents this year? Here’s a look at the top ten, considering positional value, the potential value of a new contract, what they mean to the team’s roster and the interest they could find if they were to hit the open market.
1) Rasul Douglas, CB
In terms of on-field involvement and performance, Douglas is the Bills’ runaway top free agent this offseason. Every game that Douglas was healthy for, he was the team’s starting cornerback this past season. He was undoubtedly an impact player upon arriving at the trade deadline in 2023, though he took a minor step back in 2024. Douglas is a zone cornerback through and through, which is usually fine as the Bills are a zone-heavy team. However, he struggled a bit when the Bills switched to man coverage due to the game script. Regardless of his downturn in production, Douglas remains an above-average starting option. He turns 31 in August but has some appeal as a potential one-year bridge solution, especially if the Bills spend an early pick on a cornerback in the 2025 NFL Draft.
2) Amari Cooper, WR
Without question, Cooper is the biggest name on the Bills’ free agent list and that could lead to some attention in free agency. Cooper arrived with a big first game on limited snaps, but outside of a 14-target game against the Rams, he faded into the background and had only 21 targets over his nine other active games. Through the season’s final two months, Cooper’s snap rate was mainly the fourth-best of the five receivers on the roster, which wasn’t exactly the impact many expected. However, the team revealed after the season that he was dealing with a wrist injury that could have required surgery. Cooper turns 31 in June and showed he still has some game left when given the chance, though his lack of a role while with the team and possible pricepoint may lead him away from Buffalo.
3) Ty Johnson, RB
While James Cook gets the attention for what he did last season, and for good reason, Johnson played a critical role the entire year. Cook was the runaway top rusher this season for the Bills and did so efficiently on only 47.5 percent of offensive snaps during his active games. But the team really only used him on first and second down, effectively making him a part of a committee backfield along with Johnson. Johnson’s role (30.9 percent) was mostly on third down and late-game passing situations, and he was excellent during all that work. He provided an excellent downfield target and maximized his rushing opportunities when the Bills tried to catch the opponent napping. By the end of the year, Johnson started to get some more early down work, and in the playoffs, Cook only outsnapped Johnson 99 to 85. If there’s a sneaky Bills candidate to get paid more than expected in free agency, it’s Johnson.
4) Damar Hamlin, S
Hamlin went from potentially on the roster bubble in the spring to an every-week starter by the time the 2024 season ended. It was a remarkable turnaround for Hamlin in the final year of his rookie contract, and he now has a bank of in-game experience to head into free agency with in March. Hamlin improved as the season went along and was viewed as a trusted tackler if things broke down in front of him. Hamlin was a bit too hesitant at times, which wound up hurting the Bills, but he proved capable of starting in the NFL. With two players in Taylor Rapp and 2024 second-round pick Cole Bishop likely ticketed for the starting safety jobs in 2025, Hamlin may be moving on from Buffalo this offseason unless his market isn’t strong.
5) Mack Hollins, WR
After being viewed as a depth signing in the 2024 offseason, no one could have predicted how much Hollins would have played for the Bills during the season. Seemingly out of nowhere, Hollins had more offensive snaps than any other receiver on the roster and was second among the group in snap rate in games played at 65 percent. Even after Cooper arrived, Hollins was on the field constantly. Hollins was also a huge hit with his teammates in the locker room, which adds to his value. He turns 32 in September, but it would not be surprising if the Bills signed him to another low-cost, one-year deal to keep most of the receiver room the same.
6) Dawuane Smoot, DE
Even going into his age-30 season in 2025, Smoot still holds some value to a team as a rotational pass-rushing piece that offers versatility. Smoot took reps at both left and right defensive end throughout the season. Then, in obvious passing situations, Smoot was the Bills’ preferred option to slide inside to defensive tackle to rush the passer next to Ed Oliver. With only 1.5 sacks, Smoot didn’t have the statistical impact the Bills were hoping for when they signed him as a free agent, but there is usually a home in the NFL for a competent and versatile rotational edge rusher.
7) Reggie Gilliam, FB
Fullbacks aren’t usually the first thought regarding free agency, but good ones command somewhere between $3 million and $5 million annually. Reggie Gilliam is a good fullback whose offensive role increased as the season went on. After their Week 12 bye, Gilliam played at least 10 snaps in all but one of their games, including the playoffs. He’s an excellent blocker, and the Bills liked to use him out wide as the lone blocker on an outside-the-numbers misdirection screen. On top of that, Gilliam is an every-snap special teams player and will only be 28 at the start of the 2025 season.
8) Quintin Morris, TE (RFA)
Morris has been one of the most trusted special teams players throughout his time in Buffalo, having played on nearly every snap of the core four special teams units since making the team in 2022. But it’s his offensive ability that makes him a bit underrated. Morris is both a solid blocker and receiver and makes for excellent depth behind Dalton Kincaid and Dawson Knox. He could do surprisingly well if he ever gets a chance at a starting role, but that’s unlikely in Buffalo in 2025 for his age-26 season. In the meantime, the Bills will hope to get him under contract on a modest restricted free-agent deal to keep him around.
9) Austin Johnson, DT
Johnson played a rotational role, primarily serving as the backup one-technique defensive tackle to starter DaQuan Jones. Johnson had some nice moments throughout the year as a run defender but was mainly a lower-snap player, getting 30.9 percent of the team’s defensive snaps each game he was active. Johnson is not much of a pass rusher at this stage of his career, but he could round out a defensive tackle room as a fringe rotational player.
10) Will Clapp, IOL
Clapp spent some time on the 53-man roster before getting released and added to the practice squad. When the Bills entered the postseason, they opted to call Clapp up from the practice squad each game and have him be one of their available reserve offensive linemen, as opposed to rookie center Sedrick Van Pran-Granger. The Bills signed him on a cheap one-year deal in 2024, and that would likely be the case again for the 29-year-old experienced lineman.
