The Bills have begun the process of retaining the rights to some of their restricted free agents. Buffalo tendered qualifying offers to RB Mike Gillislee and OL Ryan Groy.
By tendering Gillislee and Groy the Bills maintain the right of first refusal for both players. So if another NFL club was to sign Gillislee or Groy to an offer sheet, Buffalo would have the right to match the offer.
Gillislee and Groy were both tendered at the low level. That means if the Bills chose not to match any offer sheet signed by Gillislee they would be compensated with a fifth-round pick, the round in which Gillislee was drafted. Groy would carry no compensation as he was an undrafted rookie signing when he entered the league.
Gillislee served as the team's primary backup to feature back LeSean McCoy and eclipsed the 500-yard mark for the second straight season in 2016. He finished third on the team in scoring with nine touchdowns (eight rushing).
Groy played an important role in the second half of the season. One of the primary backup linemen on the roster, Groy started the last seven games at center after Eric Wood was lost to a season-ending leg injury. The third-year lineman performed admirably and made all the checks and calls for the offensive line.
DL IK Enemkpali and P Colton Schmidt are also restricted free agents. Buffalobills.com has learned that both players will not be tendered qualifying offers thereby making them unrestricted free agents effective Thursday at 4 pm.
