The Bills are projected to start free agency comfortably under the salary cap, and they say they’re willing to go out and spend quickly -- if the right player is there.
Bills General Manager Buddy Nix said on 550 WGR that he’s thinking less about going after a specific position and more about targeting a player who can make an instant impact on the team.
“And when I say we’re gonna be aggressive, what I mean is this time if there’s a difference-maker -- not necessarily a position -- but if there’s a guy that can come in here and immediately improve our football team, we’ll get in the hunt early this time,” Nix said.
But if there’s not “a difference-maker” then the Bills aren’t in a rush to make a move just for the sake of making a move.
“Our philosophy, or mine, or ours is that those big money guys that hit the market at 12:01 or midnight, the way it used to be, if you’re not careful you’ll overspend on those guys and not get what you pay for,” Nix said. “We’ve been one to think you can pick up good players later on in free agency, and I’m talking about guys like Nick Barnett, receivers that we’ve picked up. They’re out there, and they’ll be out there and that’s kind of been our philosophy along with building through the draft.”
And so the Bills, who haven’t made the playoffs since 1999, may not be aggressive in free agency at all, instead showing a patience that may not be shared by their fans.