Bills’ intriguing OT on expiring contract labeled ‘contract to watch’ player

The feasibility of sustained success in any professional sport depends on a team’s ability to effectively recruit and develop prospects and its willingness to re-sign them when their respective contracts expire. It’s a (mostly) foolproof method that has clearly worked in several leagues; it’s a strategy that general manager Brandon Beane employed in the rebuilding Buffalo Bills, with the bulk of his now-consistently competitive team’s key contributors acquired via the NFL Draft.

The realities of the salary cap can sometimes be restrictive, though; teams, while successful at recruiting and developing talent, simply can’t retain all of their players. That leads to frequent difficult personnel decisions by management; Beane will soon face a problem with right tackle Spencer Brown, who is entering the final year of his rookie contract after his best season as a professional.

Brown’s production has been mixed overall in his first two seasons in the NFL. The third-round pick out of Northern Iowa joined the starting lineup just weeks into his rookie season, bringing some much-needed edge off the bench before suffering a back injury after just a few appearances. He did not necessarily shine after his return, these difficulties continuing until his second campaign; he allowed 86 total pressures on the quarterback in his first two seasons, according to PFF, and also took 15 penalties.

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That left the tackle in an interesting position entering his third professional season — no Buffalo fan was willing to write off the athletic second-round draft pick entirely, but he hadn’t necessarily done enough to earn unequivocal confidence heading into the 2023 season. He effectively silenced the doubters, starting all 17 games at right tackle and not looking out of place on a Bills offensive line that was building its most consistent — and generally strongest — season in recent memory.

His strong recent play leaves Beane and the rest of the Buffalo brass facing an interesting decision: Do they try to get ahead of the proverbial curve now and extend the 26-year-old before he rises even further , or do they take the riskier route and let him participate in the 2024 campaign as an unrestricted free agent? AthleticismTim Graham of ‘s identified this dilemma as Buffalo’s most interesting contract situation, writing about it in a recent article for the outlet discussing “The One Player Contract to Watch for Every NFL Team.”

“One of the few question marks heading into last season was whether the 2021 third-round pick would deliver on his promise after a difficult sophomore campaign,” Graham wrote. “Brown responded with authority, playing every one of Buffalo’s 1,305 snaps. Pro Football Focus only gave him two more pressures than Pro Bowl left tackle Dion Dawkins.

“Brown is now entering the final year of his rookie contract. The Bills will have significant cap space next year after receiver Stefon Diggs’ dead money is wiped out, but they can save a lot by extending Brown over the next few months and not letting him get close enough to free agency to be curious about testing the open market.”

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As is the mark of any good general manager, Beane has a habit of “getting ahead of the game” when it comes to contracts: he often extends players. just before taking the next step in their development, taking advantage of favorable financial markets while signing players to long-term deals that quickly look like bargains. Quarterback Josh Allen and defensive tackle Ed Oliver are recent examples; by that logic, it wouldn’t be hard to imagine the team extending Brown this summer.

As Graham mentions, Buffalo will soon see an increase in salary cap space thanks to the maneuvers it executed throughout the 2024 offseason; extending Brown is a financially feasible idea if the team identifies him as a part of its long-term core. It appears, however, that the Bills are preparing for life after Brown; the team selected athletic offensive tackles Tylan Grable and Travis Clayton in the sixth and seventh rounds of the 2024 NFL Draft, respectively, giving them developmental linemen who could develop into starters given time. Their presence in no way suggests a desire to move on from Brown, but they are intriguing insurance options.

Beane has handed out two significant extensions in each of the last two summers (Dawson Knox in September 2022 and Oliver in June 2023); perhaps he’ll do the same with Brown in the coming months.

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