State of the Buffalo Bills Roster: Defensive Line

The Buffalo Bills’ defensive line was one of its best units for 2023. Now, it may be decimated by free agency. The team must say goodbye to a number of contributors, and it cannot afford to keep many of them. Whilst a few cornerstones are secured, there is a lot of work to do to make this unit viable for 2024. Let’s see what we’re working with.

Ed Oliver

When the Bills signed Ed Oliver to a massive extension last year, many were concerned. Was it too much money? Was he too inconsistent? Had the team put themselves in a financial hole? They were valid concerns that now seem fruitless. Ed Oliver was one of the best players on the team this season, immediately outplaying the value of his contract and disrupting offensive lines everywhere. With a true 1-tech defensive tackle next to him in DaQuan Jones, Ed was a monster. Even without Jones alongside him, he still performed extremely well.

BIG PLAY ED‼️

📺: @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/rDpbZaNKhO

— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) December 31, 2023

Interestingly enough, the Buffalo Bills inked $7.75M of his 2024 salary to his 2023 signing bonus, keeping him under $10M on the cap this season. A savvy move, as money got tight this offseason. We have four more years of Ed Oliver on this roster, and if he maintains the pace of this season we’re in for a hell of a ride.

Tim Settle

Despite playing roughly a third of the Bills defensive snaps this season, Settle was practically nonexistent on the field. Same goes for 2022, when he also failed to register anything of note. Settle was a depth player with no splash value, and when injuries forced him into a larger role, we got more of the same pedestrian performance.

He is an unrestricted free agent this offseason, and we have no reason to believe he’ll be retained.

DaQuan Jones

Rarely is the play of a 1-tech the talk of the town, but after two seasons as a Buffalo Bill, DaQuan Jones has proven invaluable. His 2022 season was electric, and the part of 2023 that he did play only proved his worth. Few absences were as notable. When Jones was on the field, rushers got their one-on-one opportunities and ran with them. The pocket collapsed, rushing lanes closed, and everything that doesn’t show up in the stat sheet was on his back.

Tragically, Jones is now an unrestricted free agent. We all hope to see him back in Buffalo this season as the defensive line loses plenty of talent, but the money will make a world of difference. We’d be lucky to have him.

Poona Ford

The Buffalo Bills signed Poona Ford to the roster late in the offseason, in what was celebrated as a great pickup. Despite injuries in the depth chart above him, he was a healthy scratch for 11 of the Bills’ 19 games this year. He did make a few good plays, but nothing more than would be expected of any depth DT.

An unrestricted free agent now, Ford had expressed frustration at the way he was handled this season. Due to this, it’s unlikely we see return this offseason.

Linval Joseph

Despite joining the team around the midseason mark to help replace the injured DaQuan Jones, Linval Joseph immediately took a bigger role than Poona Ford did. The dropoff from Jones was still notable, but there were times when Joseph popped on tape. He was adequate as a backup, and made neither costly errors nor game-changing plays.

Retirement speculation is abound, and it’s not unfounded, but as of yet Joseph will still hit the market as an unrestricted free agent. If playing football is in his future, and he wants to play a limited role for a contender, Buffalo may make sense for him. The money would have to be right, but it’s on the table.

Jordan Phillips

Jordan Phillips is a lovable player, full of soul, always keeping the crowd in the game. There have been times over the past few years where his heroics have had the whole town buzzing, but that was not this season. Phillips dealt with injury issues all year and, even when healthy, he was not a factor on the field like he used to be. The defensive line was good, but not because of him.

After missing the entire back quarter of the year and postseason, Phillips is now an unrestricted free agent. His tenure in Buffalo may be over, but we’re glad to have had him.

Greg Rousseau

Greg Rousseau has been a solid late first-rounder in terms of on-field value. His unique physical traits have covered for some technical failures, but he has been improving year-over-year for the past two seasons. This was his best year yet, despite going from 8 sacks last year to 5 this year. His tackling and pursuit have shown remarkable improvement, and his pass-rush has developed nicely. His role changed under McDermott’s scheme, and his work playing contain on a collapsing pocket, or closing outside rushing lanes, was essential to the team’s improvements in both areas. Not as pretty on the stat sheet, but Rousseau was critical in 2023.

Now, ‘Groot’ enters the final year of his rookie deal, and is likely going to see his fifth-year option picked up as the team negotiates an extension. For now, this means we’re getting at least two more years of Greg Rousseau, and that’s a very good thing. He’s currently the best defensive end on the roster, and his continued growth as a pro has been notable.

Leonard Floyd

None would disagree that Leonard Floyd was the biggest free agent signing of the year for Buffalo. A late addition, Floyd brought some fire to the defensive line to start the season, and was a quality asset for the entire year. With 10.5 sacks on the season, he led the team.

He leaves as suddenly as he came, however, saying he will follow the money this offseason, but that he’d still love to be back. Buffalo would be happy to have him but, in a cap crunch, it’s highly unlikely we see Floyd in Bills blue again. He gave us the ferocity off the edge that Von Miller was missing, and we’ll need to find it elsewhere.

Von Miller

Speaking of going missing, it’s about time we track this man down. Certainly, we won’t argue against Von Miller’s work ethic, or his track record on the field, but he hasn’t gotten back to the player he was before his injury just yet. After returning surprisingly early in Week 5, Buffalo got 14 games from Von Miller, and only 5 total tackles. He began to look like himself later in the year, but without the finishing that he’s known for.

Following that performance, and considering the current salary cap situation in Buffalo for this season (roughly $41M over budget already), Miller will cost nearly $24M on the cap for 2024. He’s under contract for another four seasons, and the earliest ‘out’ in the contract takes place next offseason. Make no mistake, Von Miller will be here for 2024; There’s no moving on. If he’s able to come close to returning to form, he’ll be formidable. Anything less will leave the team almost as hurt as the fans are. Still, there’s significant potential that Von Miller’s return to form is like adding a new player to this unit.

A.J. Epenesa

The Bills’ 2020 ‘first pick’ was called a bust as a rookie, but developed into a quality depth piece who has impacted many games in a major way. This season was arguably his best yet, as a more aggressive defensive line philosophy suited his skillset. Epenesa put up 6.5 sacks, 7 TFLs, 10 QB hits, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery, 2 INTs (including the pick-6 depicted in the above image), and even 8 passes defenced.

A.J. Epenesa is an unrestricted free agent, but he isn’t top-tier talent. He may get more money than we believe he’s worth on the open market, in a down year for teams in need of talent at defensive end. Keeping Epenesa is surely on the list for the Buffalo Bills, but it won’t be a high priority.

Shaq Lawson

Shaq Lawson’s storied history with the Bills is a thing of the past. We no longer see the struggling former 2016 first-rounder, but a reasonable contributor on defense who we like to keep when possible. Right now, Lawson is coming off an acceptable season for his role, but it was largely forgettable. He had one sack in 16 games, playing deep in the rotation at DE.

He’d returned on a one-year contract, and is now set to be an unrestricted free agent for 2024. He may return cheaply for depth, but whether he does or not isn’t particularly consequential to the success or failure of this defensive line in 2024.

Kingsley Jonathan

For his second stint with the Bills, Kingsley Jonathan got a lot of love. Primarily a special teamer, he still popped on tape defensively, and is a cheap depth piece for 2024. With a negligible cap hit and one more year under contract, Jonathan will have his chance to compete for a roster spot in camp.

Eli Ankou

Eli Ankou has been serviceable depth for the Bills on and off for a few years now. He took no snaps for Buffalo this in 2023, but had two stints on the practice squad and signed a future/reserve contract with the team in January. In a year that leaves the position barren, Eli may be needed.

Kameron Cline

On May 5th, the Buffalo Bills claimed Kameron Cline off waivers from the Colts, and eventually landed him on the practice squad. After spending the season there, he’s now signed a two-year future/reserve contract.

Andrew Brown

Andrew Brown was signed to the Bills practice squad midseason, and is now a free agent without a future/reserve deal. He was not elevated for any games, and is a non-factor entering the offseason.

State of the Roster: Defensive Line

Buffalo has a lot of work to do. The defensive line currently will feature Ed Oliver, Von Miller, Greg Rousseau, and very little else. With no money to spend, the team must invest heavily through the draft, and pinch pennies in free agency this offseason. The expanded salary cap gives the team breathing room, but not enough. The only position with a bigger hole is at safety, but the irrefutable importance of consistency on the line begs the question: How do the Buffalo Bills dig their way out of this one?

Priority Order	Position group
1	Wide Receivers
2	Defensive Line
3	Safeties
4	Offensive Line
5	Running Backs
6	Linebackers
7	Cornerbacks
8	Quarterbacks
9	Tight Ends

Featured Image Credit: Ryan Kang/Getty Images