After three straight weekends on the road, two in primetime, the Bills will get back to basics this weekend. They’ll play Sunday at 1 p.m. in their first non-primetime home game since Week 1.
That fall afternoon in Orchard Park comes with a highly anticipated debut, as new Bills receiver Amari Cooper will have the chance to play for his new team for the first time. The Bills acquired Cooper and a 2025 sixth-round pick from the Browns this week for a 2025 third-round and 2026 seventh-round pick.
With Cooper’s debut potentially on tap and plenty of other interesting items from the week, here is our Week 7 Bills notebook.
What is fair to expect for Amari Cooper’s debut?
The day after they traded for Cooper, the Bills had some mixed messaging about his potential involvement. On one hand, head coach Sean McDermott said Wednesday that they hadn’t decided if Cooper would have involvement against the Titans on Sunday — likely due to the shortened week leading up to the game. Then there was general manager Brandon Beane, who told The Pat McAfee Show that “we’ll get him in the game this week.” What is most likely is that McDermott was merely playing it safe, not wanting to overpromise if he didn’t have the whole answer rather than saying something and having to go back on it later. Regardless, it seems likely that Cooper will play this weekend — but how much?In 2018, when the Raiders traded Cooper to the Cowboys in a similarly timed trade, Cooper played on 85 percent of the Cowboys’ snaps in his debut. But there is a key difference between that situation and the one he’s in with the Bills. In 2018, the Cowboys acquired him on a Monday, and the Cowboys had a bye the weekend after they made the trade. On top of that, their next game wasn’t until Monday Night Football, giving him another day to prepare. In total, excluding the trade day and the first day to acclimate with his new team, Cooper had a full 12 days to get into the new playbook and work with his new teammates. For Cooper, since he drove in on Tuesday night, that puts him at four days before his first Bills game — a third of his potential preparation time in 2018.
Considering that short timeline, it’s likeliest that the Bills will take things slow with Cooper. Maybe he’ll get a package of plays and some obvious passing-down involvement to get him in the mix. But to expect him to step right into a high percentage role is likely asking for too much, too soon. Somewhere around the 40-50 percent of snaps mark seems attainable, considering how high his football IQ is when you watch his film. However, while Cooper is getting up to speed, a healthy dose of Keon Coleman, Mack Hollins and some increased Khalil Shakir snaps from what he had last week can likely fill in the gaps for Cooper until he’s had enough time to get to the 80-plus percent role within the offense in future weeks.
The Cooper compensatory pick potential
Following Cooper’s acquisition, one of the most commonly asked questions was about the Bills’ potential to get a compensatory pick should he leave as a free agent this March. Cooper is a free agent at the end of the year, and without him signed for 2025, it’s an important distinction. Because the Bills are inheriting the remainder of his contract, he would be a qualifying free agent on their compensatory pick sheet, and should he sign elsewhere, they would have the opportunity to get a compensatory selection if the team qualifies for one.However, there are several things to remember with acquiring compensatory selections. The first is that when the free agent leaves, in this case, 2025, the qualifying team would get the pick for the following offseason, which would be 2026. The other, more important factor is that the Bills will have had to lose more qualifying free agents than they gain, which could wind up being what holds them back from getting a pick for Cooper.
As of now, the Bills already have over $10 million in projected 2025 cap space, according to Over The Cap. That figure is without factoring in the likely release of Von Miller, which will add $8.5 million, along with any other cap casualties they could make after the season. There also will likely be some restructuring of current contracts to find more cap relief, so the Bills could be looking at somewhere between $20 to $30 million in cap space — more free agency flexibility than they’ve had the last two seasons.
There’s always the possibility that they could trade for someone currently under contract and fill their cap space with an extension, which would not count against the compensatory formula, but it’s too early to project who might be available for trade in the offseason. So while, yes, the Bills can get a compensatory pick for Cooper, there is a distinct possibility they won’t qualify for one with all of their projected cap space.
The Bills have tried several ways to get Tyler Bass out of his funk. (Luke Hales / Getty Images)
The Bills added a kicker. Now what?
The struggles of kicker Tyler Bass have been well-documented, and the situation boiled over enough to force the Bills to make a move. They tried everything to this point. They tried talking him up in the offseason, they devoutly stood by him throughout the summer and never brought in a kicker to compete with him. Through some summer struggles, they gave him a slight amount of public tough love, while still being supportive. Then they tried to motivate him by working out a pair of kickers early into the season without signing them. As the struggles continued, they had no other choice but to get to one of the last motivational steps, signing a kicker to the practice squad. Now with in-house competition, the heat is on Bass and the clock has started.However, just because they signed Lucas Havrisik, I would not expect the Bills to make Bass inactive against the Titans on Sunday. General manager Brandon Beane will likely want to see if this real move will push Bass out of his current funk from 40-plus before they go down a route from which teams usually don’t return. If Havrisik gets elevated for a single game, it could be the beginning of the end for Bass’ time in Buffalo.
Havrisik’s accuracy from 40 to 49 yards is not exactly encouraging, having made only 2 of 6 attempts during his time with the Rams in 2023. However, he hit 2 of 3 kicks from 50-plus and was perfect from under 40 yards, which makes his past stats slightly confusing. What ultimately ended his time in Los Angeles was two missed extra points in a row in the second half, and their opponents nearly stole the game with a late touchdown. But he’s a kicker in the building, and that’s a threat to Bass. Now they’ll see how their longtime kicker will respond while hoping this will be the move that returns Bass to the form they invested in during the 2023 offseason.
The OL deserves praise, but one player remains vastly underrated
The Bills have been one of the better rushing teams in the NFL, and a massive reason for it has been in how well the offensive line has played this season. The starting five have been excellent and has compelled the Bills to good results even against stout run defenses. All five offensive linemen deserve credit, and many of them get it with their contract or draft status.But the one flying under the radar this year has been left guard David Edwards. He signed a modest two-year deal to remain with the Bills after spending all of 2023 in a reserve role. Without any expectations, Edwards entered the starting lineup and has been a catalyst for even better results. So far, he’s been an upgrade from what the Bills got out of the position from now center Connor McGovern last year, and with McGovern playing at the same level as Morse, it has helped increase the unit’s overall effectiveness. Edwards has vastly outplayed his contract, and only turning 28 in March, it wouldn’t be a surprise if he becomes an extension priority to go past his current deal.
Why the Bills could force the Titans’ hand at QB
The Titans enter the matchup in a precarious spot. They have an offensive line playing poorly and a quarterback allergic to a turnover-free game. Will Levis has 10 turnovers through six outings, and the Titans have not won a game this season that he has finished. Their only victorious outing was when Mason Rudolph entered the lineup for an injured Levis. On top of that, Levis is playing for a head coach who wasn’t a part of the staff that drafted him. The longer his struggles continue, the more likely his potential in-game benching becomes.This matchup isn’t exactly promising for Levis, either. Under McDermott, the Bills have notoriously played extremely well against young quarterbacks, often frustrating them with defensive looks throughout a game. Add in that the Bills are at the healthiest they’ve been defensively all season, and it might be a long day for Levis — or possibly a short one if he struggles enough to warrant a switch to Rudolph.
Projected inactives: OL Will Clapp, DT Zion Logue, LB Joe Andreessen, LB Edefuan Ulofoshio, S Mike Edwards
(*Subject to change after Friday’s practice)
Prediction: Bills 30, Titans 10
The Titans have a quality defense and good pieces all over the field, so the point total from the Bills may be slightly surprising. But the Bills’ high point total is mostly a projection of forcing a flawed offense and quarterback into some mistakes. The Titans have one of the worst starting offensive lines in the league, giving the Bills, who have gotten healthier along the defensive line, a chance to have a big day from a sack production perspective and to solve some of their recent issues against the run. Levis is a turnover-prone player, so there is a distinct possibility the Bills’ offense has two or three short-field opportunities due to the quarterback’s mistakes.On offense, with how well the Bills have been blocking and running the ball this season, it’s a chance to see just how good they are against an impressive defensive line. It may force the Bills to be a bit more balanced than run-heavy, which will give this new look pass-catching group a chance to shine at home.
Ultimately, I expect the Bills to move the ball effectively enough throughout the game, and sometimes capitalizing on shortened fields, to pile up points. And on defense, given their advantages, the Bills may be the ones to force the Titans to begin the Rudolph era. After a somewhat even start by thr Bills, I think this matchup has the potential for a blowout victory following a Levis turnover or two — maybe three.
