Buffalo Bills Grading Free Agency: Are Bills FA Winners or Losers

The Buffalo Bills entered free agency with Buddy Nix saying something similar to the effect of “we’re going to try and make a big-splash” and be out of free agency by Friday. This was a surprising statement, one that had Bills fans and myself to have a few conversations with people on twitter ( @NFLmocks ) about what the Bills plan of attack might be for the off-season. I told people if the Bills were smart they would pursue Mario Williams, the only player on the free agency market that could instantly improve all three levels of the defense. However I lamented the fact that the Bills would never take such action and that they would probably sign Jeremey Mincey-the usual kind of Bills signing.

What did they do in free agency.

Sign Mario Williams (Contract size irrelevant)

The Buffalo Bills had convinced Mario Williams to make Buffalo his first stop when free agency opened (a little tampering? Eh who cares? All teams do with free agents, it’s just bad to already have a deal in place). And then they kidnapped him for what seemed like an eternity. They wined and dined him with current members of the Bills organization like Kyle Williams. They brought him to Jim Kelly’s house, they showed him where he could hunt, the had him bring in his fiancee. And in the end Mario Williams signed with the Buffalo Bills.

The move did two things at once. One it took care of their biggest need-a pass rushing threat from the defensive end position. And it showed the fan base that the were trying to win, and now. Adding Williams to a defensive line that already includes Marcel Dareus and Kyle Williams, potentially makes this a top five defensive line in the league if everyone stays healthy. The improvement at the defensive line also helps improve the linebacker corps and the secondary as well. When you can pressure the quarterback with just a front four and drop seven into coverage it becomes much harder for an opposition’s offense to thrive. It’s really the kind of move Buffalo needed to jolt their fan base and improve their team. The Bills lack play-makers on both sides of the ball.

I wrote the contract was irrelevant, but it’s 6 years 96-100 million dollars depending on where you read the details of the contract. A hefty price to pay for a guy who hasn’t had more than 10 sacks in a season since 2008, but it’s a move that had to be made.

Grade: A+

If another team had given Williams this exact same contract the grade wouldn’t be high, but to understand the importance of this deal you have to live in the Buffalo fan base area (I live in Rochester, NY). The Bills just DON’T get the big prize in free agency and this year they did.

Mark Anderson (4 years 27 million dollars)

The contract is always listed as the highest potential earning of the contract. This contract in particular includes 8 million dollars guaranteed. Anderson will turn 29 before the next season starts, which isn’t quite old yet. Anderson is coming off a season in which he had 10 sacks. Anderson is a peculiar player. Anderson has two seasons in which he has 10 or more sacks 2006 his rookie year and 2011 last year, but then has 13.5 sacks combined in his other four years. The Bills showed they were serious about improving the pass rush, even if they get the Anderson who averaged 3 sacks year it’s an improvement over what they had-seriously. The Bills had two players with more than 3 sacks last year-Marcel Darues had 5.5 (he led the team), and Chris Kelsay who had 5.

Grade: B

It depends which Anderson the are getting. 10 sack Anderson for less than 7 million a year is a good deal. 3 sack Anderson for 7 million dollars a year is not a great-deal, but if Anderson plays 16 games and only has three sacks he probably won’t be getting more than the 8 million dollars guaranteed.

Bills re-sign Steve Johnson

The Bills re-signed Johnson for five years and 36.25 million dollars with 18 million guaranteed.

Grade A

Johnson got 36 million over five years. Johnson has 2077 yards receiving and 17 touchdowns the last two years. Pierre Garcon got 42 million over those same five years. Garcon has 1695 yards over the last two years with 12 touchdowns.

Overall:

A-

I think the Bills have had a terrific off-season. They re-signed Steve Johnson which was important. They got Mario Williams which no one-even the most die-hard of Bills fans thought was possible. And they added Mark Anderson has another pass rusher. The only way this grade could be better is if they could re-sign Demetrius Bell (But the did make him an offer they thought represented his value and he want out looking for more in free agency-hard to blame a team when that happens). They also pursued speed WR Robert Meachem, but he went elsewhere. They enter the draft with a few needs, but the biggest one-pass rusher which the haven’t been able to draft and develop in a decade is no longer an issue. Look for the Bills to address LT, SAM LB, and a complementary WR early.

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