The Buffalo Bills expressed their long-term confidence in Ed Oliver on Saturday, and also made headway in acquiring salary cap space and planning for the future on the defensive line.
The Bills and the defensive tackle have agreed to terms on a four-year deal, a league source confirmed to The Buffalo News.
The extension, reported at $68 million with $45 million guaranteed, keeps him with the Bills through the 2027 season and gives the team some security at defensive tackle, as there was not a player at the position signed past the end of this season.
An extension also allows the Bills to spread out some of the money Oliver was due this season - $10.753 million – to make cap space. The Bills entered the weekend with $2.189 million in cap space, according to the NFL Players Association
ESPN's Adam Schefter was the first to report the deal.
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The Bills’ defense, in their current form, shouldn’t expect Oliver to be a 10-sack, 60-tackle player. But they should expect him to be more of a difference maker, O'Halloran says.
Oliver, 25, has played 62 games in four years with the Bills, with 14.5 sacks, four forced fumbles, 151 total tackles, and 42 quarterback hits. He was the ninth overall pick in the 2019 draft.
Of the eight players the Bills selected in the 2019 draft, Oliver and tight end Dawson Knox, who signed a four-year extension in September, are the only ones who remain with the team.
With an average annual value of $17 million, Oliver's contract ranks No. 13 among defensive tackles, according to Spotrac, though Quinnen Williams, chosen by the New York Jets at No. 3 in 2019, and Christian Wilkins, drafted by the Miami Dolphins at No. 13, are likely to get substantial deals before the season begins.
Defensive tackles Dexter Lawrence and Jeffery Simmons, selected after Oliver at Nos. 17 and 19, respectively, signed big extensions this offseason. Lawrence's four-year deal with the New York Giants is valued at $90 million, with $46.5 million guaranteed, and Simmons' four-year deal with the Tennessee Titans is worth $94 million with $59.3 million guaranteed.
Last season, Oliver had 2.5 sacks in 13 games. His play on Thanksgiving against the Detroit Lions earned him AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors, with six tackles, two tackles for loss, a forced fumble and fumble recovery and a safety.
The Buffalo Bills signed the defensive tackle as an undrafted free agent last month, and he’s hoping to carve out a role in the NFL.
When the season ended, Bills general manager Brandon Beane said he saw some improvements from Oliver, but also a higher ceiling.
“I think Ed's has done some really good things for us and has grown from looking back at, he just finished his fourth season with us,” Beane said in January. “I think there's some things he's done well, but I do think there's some meat on the bone. It's not from a lack of effort. He works hard. ... I think he'd tell you to there's probably some plays he wants back in certain games or certain moments.”
Oliver injured his ankle in Week 1 against the Los Angeles Rams, and missed the next three games. Even once he returned, he and the Bills acknowledged he was still impacted by the ankle.
For Oliver to continue to improve, Bills defensive line coach Eric Washington emphasized the defensive tackle prioritizing the mental side of the game.
“Just continue to play the game as much as possible from the neck up,” Washington said last week during OTAs. “When you have the kind of talent Ed has, you have to understand situations that could mean the difference between separating yourself from the opponent (and saying), ‘I have to able to process very, very quickly so I can win my one-on-one so I can play ahead of the play, as opposed to playing with the sequence of that particular play.’
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“With Ed, from an experience standpoint, we need him to play ahead, as opposed to with the tempo of the play, so (understanding) situations, certain nuances with certain calls and understanding where he can take advantage based on his position (is important).”
On top of the Bills wanting to retain a former first-round pick, there was the longer outlook of shoring up the defensive tackle group. Beane noted that he wished the draft had played out for the Bills to be able to take a defensive tackle they felt good without overreaching.
After the draft, the Bills signed free agent Poona Ford, but also to a one-year deal.
Tim Settle and DaQuan Jones are in the final year of two-year deals signed before last season. The Bills re-signed Jordan Phillips to a one-year deal and claimed Kameron Cline on waivers from the Indianapolis Colts.
Even after the additions, Beane still recognized the looming roster hole, without slipping into an overtly urgent approach.
“I would like to not end the season and be at zero (defensive tackles under contract),” Beane said in May. “That would be my hope. But it would have to make sense. If it’s somebody that’s here, now, it would have to make sense to do an extension with any of those guys, so we’ll see."