(John Munson, AP)
During an appearance on The Cris Collinsworth Podcast, Buffalo Bills General Manager Brandon Beane was candid about the status of a potential Josh Allen extension and clear about the intentions for his QB1 and the rest of the organization this offseason.
“Josh is a guy that we do believe in and we would definitely take a look at him later this offseason,” Beane said, via Jay Skurski of the Buffalo News. “Right now, we’ll focus on our upcoming free agents, plus anybody we want to add, and then the draft. Generally, what I’ve done here is look at guys to extend once we get through the draft, see what our money is like, see how we could structure it to fit not only this year, but the years beyond.”
Brandon Beane is a very calculated person when it comes to his job. He knows whats best for the team and is highly aware of the consequences that may come with the player transactions he makes. In the position of General Manager you have to think this way to bring long term success, especially if the organization was a national laughing stock for the last two decades.
Buffalo hasn't been afraid to move on from upper management when they are not doing an acceptable job. Since 2000 the Bills have had six different heads of football operations, Brandon Beane is approaching tying the longest tenured Buffalo GM in this stretch in 2021. This speaks to the success he has brought the Bills in his short time on One Bills Drive.
The 2021 offseason will bring loads of free agent attention to Buffalo with the new success. So much so that there is confirmed mutual interest between JJ Watt and Buffalo, which may garner over a 10 million dollar payday if he does sign with the Bills. If this is the case, the team will be against the salary cap tighter than the middle seat of an airplane.
.@JohnClaytonNFL says JJ Watt won't be coming to Pittsburgh. Tennessee, Green Bay, and Buffalo are the 3 teams. Raiders as a dark horse.
Barring some major roster changes, this would make an Allen extension this offseason more unlikely to come until potentially 2022.
Josh Allen is coming off what many would consider a breakout season in Buffalo where he threw for over 4,500 yards, threw for 37 touchdowns, ran in eight touchdowns, and limited himself to 10 interceptions. Only one year removed from being labeled as wild or a "smash the buttons" quarterback, Allen has looked comfortable and much more poised in 2020 due to cutting down on mistakes and turnovers. His development led to sweeping the AFC East, winning the division, winning 13 games in the regular season, going to the AFC Championship, and being voted MVP runner up to Aaron Rodgers.
I'd reckon this was a pretty good third season starting for a kid who got no D1 offers out of high school.
One thing we do know about Josh Allen is that he loves Buffalo, his teammates, and most of all the winning culture that Beane and head coach Sean McDermott have created. There is no doubt by now he knows his worth in the NFL quarterback market. My estimate for Josh Allen's potential extension could be anywhere from $33-38 million annually. This is based on deals signed by lesser or equally skilled quarterbacks who earned over $30 million like Matt Ryan, Deshaun Watson, and Russell Wilson.
A hometown discount would not be out of the question for Allen based on his infatuation for the organization and city itself. This hypothetical situation would not have him paid less than $27.5 million a year but it is enough for the Bills to still have salary cap flexibility over the years of his deal as they continue to build a winning organization. Although an Allen extension this cheap would be a North Tonawanda wet dream.
While nothing will come in the immediate future, the talk of extensions coming from Orchard Park should have all of Western New York buzzing during the offseason.
---Dombito
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