The 2025 NFL season didn’t end quite how anyone hoped it would for the Buffalo Bills.
Entering the year as a heavy favorite to once again win their division and possibly reach the Super Bowl, the Bills failed to make good on any of those bets.
Finishing second in the AFC East behind the eventual Super Bowl runner-up New England Patriots, earning the sixth seed in the conference, and falling in the divisional round of the playoffs to Denver Broncos’ second-year quarterback Bo Nix wasn’t on anyone’s bingo card to begin the year, but it’s exactly what happened to Buffalo.
Add in the fact that longtime head coach Sean McDermott was dismissed of his duties following the team’s early playoff exit, and it’s clear to see that things weren’t so “peachy” in Orchard Park this past calendar year.
With swift changes made to the coaching staff, the Bills’ brass must now focus on retooling and reshaping the offense, defense, and special teams’ units to form what new head coach Joe Brady sold as his vision for the upcoming season and beyond.
President of Football Operations/general manager Brandon Beane and his staff’s first chance to do so is just around the bend as NFL free agency begins in less than three weeks when the legal-tampering window begins at 12:00 p.m. ET on Monday, March 9, before the new league year begins and free agency officially opens up for business on Wednesday, March 11, at 4:00 p.m. ET.
And although the Bills aren’t even cap compliant as of right now, the team will undoubtedly pull various contract levers to allow themselves at least some breathing room and a little cash to spend on players where they see fit.
Who might some of those players be?
In a two-part series, the Buffalo Fambase will take a closer look at the free agency pool on both offense and defense.
Up first, we’ll examine possible additions the Bills could make on the offensive side of the ball.
OFFENSE
Isaac Seumalo, Offensive Guard, Age: 32 (Pittsburgh Steelers in ‘25)
The Buffalo Bills may be in for a bit of an overhaul on their offensive line heading into the 2026 offseason. With guard David Edwards and center Connor McGovern both currently scheduled to be free agents themselves this offseason, Buffalo may opt to move on from the pair of interior linemen depending on how steep the cost is to retain each of them. With that in mind, the Bills might try to find some cheaper veteran competition for players already on the roster like Alec Anderson and Sedrick Van Pran-Granger, who both figure to have a shot at cracking the starting lineup if Edwards or McGovern don’t return.
Enter Isaac Seumalo. A former third-round pick of the Philadelphia Eagles out of Oregon State in 2016, the 6-foot-4, 303-pound veteran is coming off the final season of a three-year, $24 million deal he signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers after spending the first seven years of his career with the Eagles.
The 10-year veteran has familiarity with Buffalo’s new offensive line coach Pat Meyer, as the two worked together during Seumalo’s time in Pittsburgh where Meyer had served as the Steelers’ offensive line coach since 2022 before ultimately coming to join Joe Brady’s staff following Mike Tomlin’s departure across state lines in Pennsylvania.
Should the Bills lose Edwards to free agency, then Seumalo may be a seamless fit to help Buffalo’s current offensive linemen better assimilate to the way Meyer likes things done. Coming off 14 regular season starts and one postseason start in 2025, Seumalo was ranked the 16th guard in the league according to Pro Football Focus and should likely garner less money than he did during his last go around in the free agent market considering he’ll turn 33 at the end of October.
Wyatt Teller, Offensive Guard, Age: 31 (Cleveland Browns in ‘25)
The name Wyatt Teller should ring a bell for all of Bills Mafia as the former Virginia Tech offensive lineman was a fifth-round pick of the Bills in 2018, the same draft class as MVP quarterback Josh Allen.
Teller wound up starting the final seven games of his rookie season before ultimately being shipped off to Cleveland in a trade prior to the start of his second year in Buffalo.
The former fifth-rounder went on to find greener pastures across Lake Erie as he earned Pro Bowl honors in three straight seasons from 2021 to 2023.
And although his play may have declined slightly in the past two seasons, not much has gone right in Cleveland on the offensive side of the ball since the Deshaun Watson fiasco arose, so how much blame should Teller really shoulder for his performance in recent years? Who knows.
Regardless, the former Bill could prove to be a solid, somewhat bargain free agent addition at a reasonable price considering his age, and Brandon Beane could get a chance to recoup some of the loss on a draft pick that he seemingly gave up too soon on long ago.
Romeo Doubs, Wide Receiver, Age: 25 (Green Bay Packers in ‘25)
Doubs enters free agency coming off a tremendous postseason performance in which he posted eight receptions for 124 yards and one touchdown in a loss on the road to the Chicago Bears in the wildcard round on Jan. 10. For the regular season, Doubs produced a career-high 724 receiving yards on 55 receptions while adding six touchdowns, which was the second most of his career. While those numbers may not seem all that eye popping, the situation surrounding Doubs over the last four seasons should be taken into context. Stuck in a log jammed room of receivers that includes 2025 first-round pick Matthew Golden, 2022 second-round pick Christian Watson, 2023 second-round pick Jayden Reed, and 2025 third-round pick Savion Williams, Doubs has managed to still produce at a consistent level each season, failing to top 600 yards in only his rookie campaign. With that said, it’s clear to see that Doubs could even see an added uptick in his production should he become more of a focal point on his next team. While many people appear to be clamoring for Alec Pierce to be Buffalo’s top target at the position in free agency, Doubs could prove to be a more valuable piece at a more affordable price.
Tutu Atwell, Wide Receiver, Age: 26 (Los Angeles Rams in ‘25)
A surprising second-round selection in the 2021 NFL Draft, Atwell has been a bit of a disappointment in Los Angeles. The former Louisville Cardinal finished his rookie contract by racking up a career-high in receptions (42) and yardage (562) in 2024, which helped secure him a lucrative one-year, $10 million contract to stay put with the Rams last offseason. Despite the solid pay day, Atwell failed to live up to expectations as he managed to muster just six receptions for 192 receiving yards in 2025 after dealing with a lingering hamstring injury that landed him on injured reserve for part of the season. Now entering free agency once again, Atwell will likely be looking for an opportunity to showcase his skills a bit more heading into the 2026 season. As evidenced by his 32.0 yard-per-catch average last year, the 5-foot-9 wideout has plenty of speed to burn from the position and could provide a spark to an offense on a cheap prove-it type deal. Buffalo, which admittedly is lacking in the speed department in the wide receiver room, might find it wise to to take a flier on the former second-rounder if the money makes sense.
Rashid Shaheed, Wide Receiver, Age: 27 (New Orleans Saints/Seattle Seahawks in ‘25)
Rashid Shaheed was a popular name at the trade deadline this past season, and was one player that many felt the Bills could possibly add to help propel them toward a championship in the second half of the year. Buffalo didn’t make a deal for the then Saints wideout, however, and the former undrafted player out of Weber State went on to be traded to the eventual Super Bowl winner, the Seattle Seahawks, for a fourth and fifth-round pick in the upcoming draft. Shaheed proved to be worthy of the cost as the 6-foot speedster racked up 499 of his 687 receiving yards for the season in just nine games with the Seahawks while also adding his only two receiving touchdowns of the regular season. Shaheed also added a touchdown on a kickoff return and a punt return for Seattle in the regular season, while scoring a touchdown on a kickoff return in the divisional round versus the San Francisco 49ers.
Jahan Dotson, Wide Receiver, Age: 25 (Philadelphia Eagles in ‘25)
At first glance, Jahan Dotson might not be a name that excites many in Buffalo’s fanbase. However, given the fourth-year wideout’s background as a first-round pick of the Washington Commanders in the 2022 NFL Draft out of Penn State, there’s certainly some intrigue surrounding Dotson. The former Nittany Lion was traded to the Eagles after just two seasons with the Commanders in which he posted 1,041 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns on 74 receptions over a span of 29 games played, which included 26 starts. Dealt to Philadelphia prior to the 2024 season, the 5-foot-10, 184-pound speedster helped the Eagles capture a Super Bowl title in his first season (19 receptions, 216 yards) with the club before having his fifth-year option declined and finishing off his rookie contract in 2025 with 18 receptions for 262 yards and a touchdown on 36 targets. Those numbers obviously aren’t all that inspiring, but much like the aforementioned Doubs, Dotson was on a talent-laden offense in Philadelphia that included players like receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, tight end Dallas Goedert, and running back Saquon Barkley, so his opportunities to make a major impact were certainly limited over his two-year span with the 2024 Super Bowl Champions. If given more opportunity, Dotson, who is just 25 years old, could possibly provide much more than he’s shown thus far in his NFL career.
Calvin Austin III, Wide Receiver, Age: 26 (Pittsburgh Steelers in ‘25)
A former fourth-round pick of the Steelers in 2022, Calvin Austin III is much like Dotson in that the former mid-rounder out of Memphis showcased much more playmaking ability in college than he has thus far in the NFL. Posting back-to-back seasons of more than 1,000 yards in each of his last two years at the collegiate level, Austin III has yet to eclipse the 600-yard mark through four seasons in the league. Still, possessing 4.3 speed is a coveted attribute in the NFL, and the former Tiger certainly has speed in spades. With that said, it’ll be up to Austin III’s next team to truly unlock the playmaking ability of the 5-foot-9, 162-pounder. Austin III also provides the ability to be a kickoff and punt returner, something that could prove to be intriguing to Buffalo.
Other notable possibilities: Marquise Brown, WR, Age: 28 (Kansas City in ‘25); Mike Evans, WR, Age: 32 (Tampa Bay in ‘25); DeAndre Hopkins, WR, Age: 33 (Baltimore in ‘25); Christian Kirk, WR, Age: 29 (Houston in ‘25); Tyquan Thornton, WR, Age: 25 (Kansas City in ‘25); Greg Dortch, WR, Age: 27 (Arizona in ‘25); Joe Flacco, QB, Age: 41 (Cleveland/Cincinnati in ‘25); Marcus Mariota, QB, Age: 32 (Washington in ‘25); Michael Burton, FB, Age: 34 (Denver in ‘25); Tyler Linderbaum, C, Age: 25 (Baltimore in ‘25); Luke Fortner, C/G, Age: 27 (New Orleans in ‘25).
Editor’s babble: Many thanks to John Green for his terrific contributions to our blog. You can also find John on X @JGreen_PRsports.
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