We’re still only partway through minicamp, but plenty has already happened at One Bills Drive for us to reflect on the dozens of moves made.
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Coming off a season where the Buffalo Bills won the AFC East a franchise-record fifth consecutive time and advanced to the AFC Championship, it’s reasonable to see the 2024 NFL season as a success overall. At season’s end quarterback Josh Allen was crowned the Associated Press NFL MVP as the “head of the spear” for Buffalo’s league-leading scoring offense last season.
Falling one game short of the Super Bowl tends to leave a few deep marks within NFL organizations, and general manager Brandon Beane made it a point to hit the ground running this past March in hopes of improving the roster. A year removed from the devastating cap hit created by parting ways with wide receiver Stefon Diggs, Beane and One Bills Drive had more funds to sign their own players to new deals and pursue free agents this spring.
It’s been a busy offseason with much to reflect on regarding this week’s Reacts question for Rumblers: How would you rate the Buffalo Bills’ offseason so far?
Need a refresher?
- From the Bills’ work in free agency;
- to Buffalo’s nine 2025 NFL Draft selections;
- Undrafted Free-Agent signings;
- and signing cornerstone in-house players to new multi-year deals…
… there’s been plenty to applaud, but all hasn’t gone perfectly as planned this offseason. Consider the free-agent signings of defensive lineman Michael Hoecht and defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi — both of whom produced failed tests for Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs) and will each miss the first six weeks of the 2025 NFL season.
There’s also the situation with running back James Cook, who’s in the last year of his rookie deal and looking for a new contract before this one expires. Cook watched four teammates receive new lucrative deals (Khalil Shakir, Christian Benford, Greg Rousseau, and Terrel Bernard), plus Josh Allen’s new multi-year deal — yet didn’t see the same benefit despite putting up a second-consecutive season over 1,000-plus rushing yards while setting a new franchise rushing touchdown mark with 16 TDs on the ground.
After missing voluntary work early, Cook did finally show up this week for mandatory minicamp, and has stated his intention to be at training camp later this summer. But it’s anyone’s guess at this point if the contract situation will boil over into the regular season to become an in-season distraction.
So, what say you, Rumblers: How would you grade the Buffalo Bills’ offseason so far?