Buffalo Bills Might Shock Fans by Releasing Star Player

The Buffalo Bills season is over after yet another AFC Divisional round loss, the second to the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Bills players cleaned out their lockers on Monday and will not be back at One Bills Drive until this spring for OTA's...that doesn't mean that coaches and executives have time off.

Bills scouts and coaches are likely still working, trying to do player evaluations, scout pending free agents for other teams and watching tape for college players who will be eligible to be take in the 2024 NFL Draft.

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The Bills cap situation is bad. It's the worst it has been in over 20 years.

Spotrac projects the Bills to be -$50 million, which means they will be forced to restructure two or three contracts; Josh Allen the first and foremost. After that, they will have to likely let most of their pending free agents walk, including Gabe Davis, Micah Hyde, Jordan Phillips, Tim Settle, DaQuan Jones, Shaq Lawson, Latavius Murray, Damien Harris, Trent Sherfield and A.J. Epenesa.

However, the Bills might also release players currently under contract, because of the cap space it would save. One might shock fans but it makes financial sense.

Cornerback Tre'Davious White suffered an Achilles injury in week 4 against the Miami Dolphins. He missed the remainder of the season. He tore his ACL and meniscus on Thanksgiving in 2021, which caused him to miss the next year on the field.

White will be 29 years old this season and the Bills have a potential "out" in his contract, which means this is an opportunity to save money by releasing him.

White's cap hit in 2024 is $16.4 million. If the Bills released him, the dead cap hit would be $10.3 million, which is $16 million less than what the dead cap would have been in 2023. It would save the Bills over $6 million instantly against the 2024 cap.

There's zero doubt that Tre has meant a lot to the Bills defense and the Buffalo community. In the end, however, it's a business. Two major leg injuries in less than two years and he's close to 30 years old -- there is no guarantee he's the same player once he returns to the field, and maybe the Bills decide on that after seeing him return to the field at practice.

The Bills have to start making tough decisions and releasing Tre might be one of them.

They still have Rasul Douglas, Taron Johnson, Christian Benford and Kaiir Elam under contract. Releasing White would mean Benford is asked to be an every-day starter, but he proved in 2023 he can be that.