It’s the National Football League’s oxymoron time of year, you know like Required Donation, Jumbo Shrimp and Paid Volunteer?
In the NFL it’s “Legal Tampering.”
Starting at noon Monday, through today, teams desiring to sign an unrestricted free agent could negotiate with that player, but not sign him until 4 o’clock this afternoon.
And, for the Bills, it seemed they were little involved in “legal tampering” with no information forthcoming on who they were pursuing.
Then came Monday night.
First was a high-profile trade with the Vikings for elite wide receiver Stefon Diggs. Buffalo sent its first, fifth and sixth round picks in this year’s draft plus a fourth rounder in 2021 to Minnesota for Diggs and a Vikes’ seventh rounder come April.
The acquisition of the former Maryland star clearly puts the pressure on Josh Allen, the Bills’ third-year quarterback. The message is, Allen now has the receiving tools with Diggs, John Brown and Cole Beasley and a tight end — Dawson Knox — Buffalo’s management loves. Thus, he must shed his inaccuracy on the long ball and minimize a penchant for occasional poor decision-making.
And that’s particularly true with Diggs in the lineup. He averaged 73 catches for 924 yards and six touchdowns in five years with Minnesota. But he’s now a Bill due to being so critical of Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins that he had to be traded. It’s hard to imagine Diggs keeping his mouth closed if Allen overthrows him a few times or doesn’t see him when he’s wide open.
But that’s not all that happened Monday night and Tuesday for Buffalo.
The Bills reportedly reached a contract agreement with five free agents whose deals will be announced today.
Coming to Orchard Park are defensive ends Mario Addison (late of Carolina) and Quinton Jefferson (Seattle) linebackers A.J. Klein (New Orleans) and Tyler Matakevich (Pittsburgh) and defensive tackle Vernon Butler, a first-round draft pick for Carolina from Louisiana Tech in 2016.
Addison, an alum of Troy, and Klein, from Iowa State, were with the Panthers when Bills coach Sean McDermott was defensive coordinator and Buffalo general manager Brandon Beane was assistant GM.
A nine-year veteran, Addison was a starter the past three years for Carolina while Klein was an occasional first-teamer in four seasons with the Panthers but started the past three years with the Saints.
Matakevich, from Temple, was a reserve in four seasons with the Steelers.
Clearly, Addison is seen as the replacement for end Shaq Lawson with Jefferson providing depth, and Butler will vie for the spot of Jordan Phillips while Klein is viewed as the heir apparent to retired strongside linebacker Lorenzo Alexander.
Meanwhile, Buffalo lost two free agent defensive linemen, Lawson and Phillips.
Lawson signed with Miami while Phillips went to Arizona, both signing three-year, $30 million contracts, though the former could go to $36 million if he hits his incentives.
The Bills would have preferred to keep both of them, but not at the price for which they signed.
Still, in keeping with the long-held theory that the best free agents a team signs are its own, the Bills already had retained starting guard Quinton Spain via a three-year $15 million contract.
The Bills also picked up the option year on offensive lineman Spencer Long’s contract and signed veteran cornerback Josh Norman after he was waived by Washington earlier this month.
It also kept its three exclusive rights free agents: wide receiver Robert Foster, cornerback Levi Wallace and tight end Jason Croom. However, all three were effectively tied to Buffalo anyway. Exclusive right free agents can be kept merely by their own team offering a one-year contract, which the Bills did.
In addition, wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie, originally a restricted free agent which would have required an interested team to compensate Buffalo, instead was not tendered an offer by the team, thus making him an unrestricted free agent.
With the re-signing of Spain and the loss of Lawson and Phillips, Buffalo now has seven remaining unrestricted free agents.
Running back Frank Gore, who will be 37 in May, likely won’t be brought back in favor of a younger veteran.
The other six are linebacker Maurice Alexander, safeties Kurt Coleman and Dean Marlowe, cornerback Kevin Johnson, running back Senorise Perry and offensive lineman LaAdrian Waddle.
Buffalo general manager Brandon Beane, at his season-ending press conference, made it clear he has no problem with his free agents testing their value on the open market.
That said, of the seven free agents, only Marlowe and Johnson figure to be a priority for the Bills to bring back.
As for who else Buffalo will pursue among the current class of available candidates, we should start finding out starting this afternoon.
(Chuck Pollock, a Times Herald senior sports columnist, can be reached at cpollock@oleantimesherald.com)
