In the aftermath of the Buffalo Bills’ 27-10 home AFC divisional playoff loss to the reigning AFC champion Cincinnati Bengals, Bills GM Brandon Beane took a subtle jab at the Bengals in his end-of-season news conference despite them dominating his team on Sunday.
When asked what makes the two teams different, Beane was quick to refer to the Bengals having their core offensive skill players still on rookie deals, while the Bills aren’t as fortunate.
“They right now are on the advantage of a rookie quarterback contract,” Beane said of Joe Burrow. “They had some lean years, and without getting too much into their build. I don’t want to suck bad enough to have to get Ja’Marr Chase. He’s a heck of a talent, I’d love to have him, but you gotta go through some lean years to do that. They were able to get Burrow No. 1 and Chase No .5, and those guys are on their rookie deals. We’re paying Stefon Diggs a pretty hefty number. We’re paying Josh Allen a pretty hefty number. So there is the constraints of the cap. They have a really good team, and they’ve got some good young players. We’re gonna try to get as many players as we can through the draft and through free agency, but again our cap situation is a little bit different.”
Why Did the Bills Fail To Reach Super Bowl?
Sounds like Beane is crying over sour grapes because the Bengals built their team the right was and have already surpassed the Bills, this season’s prohibitive Super Bowl favorite. The Bills underachieved because they want to win a certain way instead of the way they need to. It’s way too much pressure on Allen weekly, with the constant resistance to utilize the run game. That played a huge role in Sunday’s result. Beane can also look at his young group of edge rushers.
Once Von Miller went down, not one of the three ranked in the top 50 in pass rush win rate. In this league if you can’t affect the passer, it usually spells disaster. No running game and no pressure on the opposing team’s QB is a no-no in today’s pass-happy era.
"Unfortunately, we never put together a complete game and didn't play our best football in the end."
Top 5 things we learned from GM Brandon Beane's season-ending press conference: https://t.co/x9uEOTIQYZ pic.twitter.com/stxciyUUvI
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) January 25, 2023
Bills Could’ve Had Justin Jefferson On Rookie Deal
Prior to the 2020 NFL draft, the Bills, looking to add a true No. 1 receiver in hopes of helping their franchise quarterback, traded for the Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Stefon Diggs. The Bills traded the No. 22 pick in that draft which became wide receiver Justin Jefferson, who’s exceeded expectations and become one of the top receivers in the league. In fact, this season Jefferson had 128 receptions for 1,809 yards and eight touchdowns. At the time of the move, Jefferson was an unproven college player, while Diggs was a good NFL receiver, the Bills could have Jefferson on that rookie deal that Beane is speaking of.
Not to say Diggs is some scrub. He’s a two-time All-Pro since the trade, but those rookie deals are like are treasures. It allows you to build out the rest of your roster without the strain of the salary cap restriction.
15 takeaways from #Bills general manager Brandon Beane’s end of season press conference (he said a lot): https://t.co/xhFlmgv2tA
— TheBillsWire (@TheBillsWire) January 25, 2023
Bills Over The Cap: Salary Cap Cuts Coming?
In his interview, Beane said the team will have to get creative with the cap this offseason, and while that probably has nothing to do with Allen or Diggs, there will be some hard decisions coming.
“We’re going on have to get under the cap by moves, roster cuts … There’s not going to be a Von Miller signing or something like that. We’re going to work to get under the cap so we can operate this year,” Beane said.
Of the four teams left in this year’s playoffs, the only one paying a massive QB salary is the Chiefs with Patrick Mahomes, but the Chiefs also traded star wide receiver Tyreek Hill last offseason, which allowed them to tighten up their leaky defense and other areas of the team.
The Bills have work to do, and they believed the headlines. So, if they are the real deal, get back to work and prove it.
