Something has to give in Buffalo. Entering the 2026 season, the Bills are vying to build a fresher roster. To solve their crunching situation of being $12 million under the projected $303 million cap space, the Bills have allowed the contracts of several players to be voided. However, in doing so, the front office has racked up a massive dead cap hit.

This Monday, five player contracts were allowed to get voided. While the teams are calculating the costs to open up cap space before the free agency signings begin on March 11, the Bills have instead created $29,661,000 of dead cap in 2026. They now rank tenth in the NFL in dead cap this season. Here are the players who got cut:

• LB Matt Milano ($11.071M)
• ED Joey Bosa ($7.2M)
• C Connor McGovern ($4.805M)
• DL DaQuan Jones ($3.724M)
• ED A.J. Epenesa ($2.861M).

It is important to note that the Bills can still sign these players before the free agency period begins. However, now, they will need to offer them a new contract, which will come with acceleration. But, likely, they will not, given the reasons they were cut, especially Jones.

The Bills were halted in their Super Bowl LX pursuit this year by quarterback Bo Nix’s Denver Broncos. That was, of course, another brutal blow to their dreams. However, when the New England Patriots defeated the Broncos, as Nix couldn’t suit up, Jones didn’t hold back.

Not only did he complement Patriots’ first-year head coach Mike Vrabel, but he even tackled the Bills Mafia, arguing that he will be a free agent next year. Others are simply the decisions made out of the urgency the team has.

McGovern is going to be due for a massive payday, one that the Bills might not be able to check. While Epenesa’s market may be small and he could likely come back before March 11, the chances are quite slim. At the same time, Bosa and Milano performed as expected.

But they are both aging, and Bosa was practically invisible in their two-game playoff run. So, it’s very unlikely the Bills will bring them back. Meanwhile, Milano has been in Buffalo since 2017, but his one-year, $6.3 million contract has ended, and the Bills might not bring him back.

Meanwhile, general manager Brandon Beane already knows he has much work to do.

“We have a lot of work to do this offseason, like we do every year,” Beane had said in his exit interview. “I understand the frustrations out there. I already kind of know some things that we’re going to need to do to get under the cap, whatever that number is.”

To even begin talking about the potential players for the 2026 roster, he needs to create enough salary cap space. Already, there’s no shortage of what Buffalo will need, beginning with the most obvious and most urgent position, a true No. 1 wide receiver. Then, Beane also needs to look at the defensive line and at the linebacker, cornerback, and safety positions, among others.

The Bills were carrying less than $1 million in dead cap before these five contracts expired, ranking 26th in dead cap, but one front-office decision changed it all. But worry not!

Beane has relatively easy maneuvers he can execute before the official start of the league year to make the Bills cap compliant and get plenty of room to upgrade the roster.

The Bills have enough options to bounce back from the cap space nightmare

Beane has his hands full going into the 2026 season. With the Bills making quarterback Josh Allen the center of their all plans, the work only multiplies. Ironically, Allen has been Buffalo’s No. 1 cap hit since his 2022 extension. Then, in 2025 again, he signed his second extension, soaring his cap numbers to $36.3 million. That was 13 percent of the team’s entire payroll last season.

That, of course, means that he is also at the top of a restructuring plan.

It is not unusual for superstar players like him to restructure their contracts or even renegotiate them. After all, the purpose is to build a team that can win them a Super Bowl and remove the tag of not winning the big one from the QB.

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• QB Josh Allen: The QB will account for a $56.4 million cap hit to the Bills this season. The way he performs, the team would obviously not mind paying that amount. However, it is the biggest hurdle for them if they want to open cap space. A simple conversion could free $12.1 million for Beane.
• Left tackle Dion Dawkins: The soon-to-be 33-year-old remains a core player of the club despite his play regressing in 2025. However, his $24.8 million cap hit is second, next to Allen’s, for the team. With a restructure, he can also provide breathing room with a restructure of at least $11.3 million.
• Defensive tackle Ed Oliver: With the DT having two years remaining on his deal, Beane might want to reduce his $23.9 million hit by $10.2 million.
• Right tackle Spencer Brown: The 28-year-old has a $19.3 million hit in the next season. This can be reduced by$4.7 million to open further cap space.

Then there is identifying a few veterans who could be salary cap casualties. If they wish to cut more players, Beane can again decide whether to make the move before June 1 or after it. If he goes with the latter option, the owed money could be spread across the next two league years. However, it would also mean that the money won’t be readily available.

To avoid that, Beane could cut some players before June 1. In that case, while the team will have to carry dead cap into this season, the remaining amount will be immediately available to use in free agency or prepare for the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft. Seeing how the Bills have already allowed five contracts to expire, they may be going on that route.

Besides allowing these contracts to be voided, head coach Joe Brady also saw an assistant coach who trained Josh Allen leave for an AFC rival.

Ronald Curry left the Bills for the Denver Broncos

On Thursday, Ronald Curry joined the Denver Broncos as their wide receivers coach, reuniting with Sean Payton, with whom he spent six years in New Orleans. However, that means Allen could face a developmental setback, especially considering the plans that the new head coach, Joe Brady, has for him moving forward.

Curry joined the Bills in 2024 as the quarterbacks coach. Under his guidance, Allen finished the 2025 season with 25 touchdowns, completing almost 70 percent of his passes for 3,668 passing yards. He had a QBR of 65.4 and a passer rating of 102.2. Last season, too, Allen excelled under the former quarterbacks coach.

In his NFL MVP season, he recorded a career-high QBR of 74.8. Unfortunately, that duo is no more, with Curry leaving the Bills. Surprisingly, it was the Broncos who eliminated the Bills from the playoffs. The score read 33-30, with the Broncos picking up the win in overtime. Before joining the Bills, Curry spent eight years in New Orleans, taking on various roles.

Out of those eight, he spent six years as an assistant to Payton. Initially, he was an offensive assistant, then a wide receivers coach, followed by a quarterbacks coach, and finally a quarterbacks coach and pass game coordinator. Payton left the franchise after the 2021 season, but Curry stayed till the end of 2023.

Now, he will once again take over as the wide receivers coach under Payton, replacing Keary Colbert.

While the exact reason behind Colbert’s firing remains undisclosed, Payton mentioned that he was disappointed with the way the pass-catchers played this season. Regardless, Ronald Curry will have the likes of Courtland Sutton and Marvin Mims Jr. at his disposal.

Curry did a great job in guiding Allen; now it is time to do the same with the wide receivers. Curry himself was a wide receiver in the NFL, so it remains to be seen how he improves the pass-catching department. But he will certainly have the aid of a good quarterback in Bo Nix.