Buffalo Bills: The best move the Bills made in free agency so far is to make sure the offensive line did not fall apart. The Bills placed the franchise tag on left tackle Cordy Glenn and re-signed left guard Richie Incognito before Incognito hit the open market. Incognito rebuilt his career there last year and will continue to be a piece of a nasty offensive line that protects Tyrod Taylor and blocks for LeSean McCoy.
Most significant signing: The Bills have yet to sign a free agent from another team, and they have yet to re-sign any free agents since the start of free agency last Wednesday, so there are no candidates for this honor. However, looking at it from a broader scope, three re-signings in earlier weeks and months prevented the Bills from losing any key unrestricted free agents this offseason: tackle Cordy Glenn (franchise tag), guard Richie Incognito and defensive tackle Marcell Dareus.
What's next: The Bills were planning on sitting out the first week of free agency. Now that the initial burst of spending has passed, the team will look for bargains who remain on the market. Harvin could be one. Former Jets wide receiver Jeremy Kerley could be another -- he visited Buffalo on Tuesday. The Bills have $5.82 million in cap space, which is enough to make a low-cost signing or two.
Overall grade: B-plus. Ideally I would assign an "incomplete" here because the Bills have not been active in adding free agents, nor have they suffered any significant losses in free agency. They've remained on the sidelines largely because of their decisions to lock up Dareus, Incognito and Glenn before the free-agent signing period opened, as well as their limited cap space. It's tough to assign an "A" grade when there are no free-agent additions to evaluate, but the Bills have made logical decisions so far this spring.
The Skinny:They did the smart thing and made sure to keep the left side of their offensive line in tackle Cordy Glenn and guard Richie Incognito. They had some cap issues, so they did suffer a few losses like Mario Williams (released), corner Leodis McKelvin (released) and linebacker Nigel Bradham.
Grade: B: Keeping your own is important and they kept the players they wanted to keep.
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SI.com, Greg Bedard – NFL Free Agency grades](http://www.si.com/nfl/2016/03/08/nfl-free-agency-grades-rumors-contracts)
Bills re-sign OG Richie Incognito
Probably a smart move for both teams. Incognito still has the lingering stain of the Dolphins scandal (and a bad reputation overall) on him, so he was probably always going to get better money from the Bills. They get their best lineman back with more work to do.
Grade: A-
The Bills entered the offseason in salary cap hell and some important offensive linemen hitting free agency. They managed to solve both problems by releasing Mario Williams and a handful of other players, giving them the space to franchise tag Cordy Glenn and re-sign Richie Incognito. Keeping both guys -- particularly Glenn, who was set to get a massive payday on the market -- is a big win for Buffalo.
G Richie Incognito (BUF)
Buffalo is rewarded for taking a chance on Incognito with a per annum payout far less than his 2015 performance (top ranked left guard) would say he's worth.
Buffalo Bills: Defensive End
The Buffalo Bills are loaded with talent on both sides of the ball and will be a playoff contender in 2016 once again. A strong draft can help them get closer to their first playoff appearance since 1999. Their most pressing need is to bulk up at defensive end.
Losing Mario Williams this offseason will sting, even if his effort was poor in 2015. This defense must add a quality pass-rusher with the ability to set the edge in the run game. There aren't many rushers who fit that description and could fall out of the first-round, so expect a significant asset to be spent on an end.
Potential targets:
- Shaq Lawson, DE, Clemson
- Jonathan Bullard, DE/DT, Florida
- Jordan Jenkins, DE/OLB, Georgia
