Bills GM Brandon Beane provides updates on Damar Hamlin, Leslie Frazier

Hamlin receives ovation Vikings-Bills named 2022’s top game

Henry McKenna

AFC East Reporter

The Buffalo Bills are not one of the teams with big problems. They have small problems that are just big enough to prevent them from appearing in the Super Bowl.

That means general manager Brandon Beane will need to spend the offseason making minor alterations with one goal: an NFL championship. But even he seemed to recognize in his press conference Tuesday at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis that this year might be harder than last year. Quarterback Josh Allen will consume $39.8 million in salary cap space in 2023 after taking up $16.3 million in 2022. That will have ripple effects, including the Bills being currently over the cap by $18.7 million for 2023.

Maybe that means they build through the draft rather than through free agency. The Bills have picks in all six of the top rounds. All of those selections are their original picks except their fifth-rounder from Arizona. That’s a respectable amount of draft capital for Beane to continue to build up this team.

So here’s what Beane discussed when it came to the team’s offseason and other Bills headlines.

Damar Hamlin’s future in the NFL remains uncertain, per Beane

Beane said it’s Hamlin’s “goal to continue playing” in the NFL. But it seems, for now, that goal is an ambitious one.

Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest on Jan. 2 during the Bills’ game against the Bengals in Cincinnati. An on-site medical staff performed CPR on the field and he went in an ambulance to a local hospital where he began his recovery. In recent weeks, he has made appearances at events, including the Super Bowl and the NFL Honors ceremony.

But Hamlin has also been working hard in his recovery to make a return to the football field.

“He’s seen several specialists since our season has ended. That’s not done. I think he’s got two or three more that he’s got to see in various parts of the country,” Beane said. “Our medical [staff] — we’ve had one to two guys traveling with him to see these specialists, because it will be a decision for Damar but it’ll also be a decision for us. We want to make sure that we’re hearing everything. … We want to make sure that we’re all in sync.”

Hamlin receives ovation

Damar Hamlin and medical staff members received a standing ovation before Super Bowl LVII.

Leslie Frazier is stepping away for 2023. And Beane wouldn’t commit to bringing him back in 2024.

It seems like Frazier’s future with the Bills is uncertain. The defensive coordinator told Beane last week that he will spend a year away from coaching.

“Talking to him, he has full plans to return in 2024,” Beane said.

So when Frazier returns to coaching in 2024, will he be back with the Bills?

“I don’t know that yet,” Bean said. “He’s been here six years, and we’ve got a great relationship with him. … That would be up to [head coach] Sean [McDermott] and the staff if they want to connect back with him.”

That’s far from a commitment. So it’s possible — and maybe even likely — that this is the end of the line between Buffalo and Frazier. Meanwhile, the Bills have the difficult task of deciding whether they’ll replace him, given that most of the coaching hires have already taken place. If they don’t want to replace Frazier, the Bills can always lean on McDermott to run the defense with help from the rest of the staff, including newcomer Al Holcomb, hired this week as a senior defensive assistant.

“Still working through what we would do [about the defensive coordinator opening]. Not sure,” Beane said. “The good thing for us is, you guys know Sean’s background — Sean’s been a longtime defensive coordinator, and so right now, he’ll just kind of lead that.”

Beane said the Bills’ salary cap situation will be a constraint, but they plan to “fill holes” in free agency

I mentioned the Bills don’t have cap space. They’re over the salary cap by roughly $18.7 million. So Beane fielded questions on whether he feels like he has the ability to get under the cap far enough to make some moves to improve the team this offseason.

“We are tight on the cap this year, and we’re gonna be tight next year,” Beane said. “Looking at it from a forecasting standpoint, we got a couple of tough years coming up to do that. We will strategically push some money forward with some restructures coming up to get under the cap. But, again, that’s why I said at the end-of-season presser, I wouldn’t expect the Von Miller-type moves.”

Beane added: “But we’ll definitely restructure some guys and do what we need to do to.”

Beane also added that the team is open to retaining guard Rodger Saffold, among other pending free agents.

Vikings-Bills named 2022’s top game

The thrilling Week 10 contest between the Vikings and the Bills was named game of the year by “NFL on FOX.”

Beane says Gabe Davis faced “unrealistic expectations” prior to 2022

The Bills desperately needed help at receiver beyond Stefon Diggs in 2022. And no one managed to bring consistent production — not even Davis, who seemed like the obvious player to elevate into a big role. It’s unfair to say Davis couldn’t get it done — he finished the year with 48 catches, 836 yards and seven touchdowns. And while those numbers are impressive, Davis had boom or bust performances. He had too many games when he disappeared.

“People probably had maybe some unrealistic expectations but no one puts higher expectations on themselves than Gabe,” Beane said. “And there’s no one that trained as hard as that guy that I’m aware of on our team last year and he’s already preparing. I’ve seen videos of him of training this offseason from his trainer. But Gabe is — he’s a competitive guy who wants it bad.”

Beane said that Davis’ high ankle injury, which he suffered on a Friday ahead of Week 2, set him back in a big way during the course of the first half of the season. And perhaps that injury went under the radar when evaluating his performances this year.

“You can just watch the film when he was coming out of his cuts. He was taken an extra step which allowed that defender to stay attached to him as well. And he has had a few drops that he definitely wants back,” Beane said. “But [I’ve] got a lot of faith in Gabe. And again he’ll be back this year better than ever.”

Buffalo might be able to free up just enough money to sign or trade for a top-flight receiver this offseason, but that might also mean the departure of their best pending free agents, Tremaine Edmunds and Jordan Poyer. Beane will have no shortage of tough calls this offseason.

Prior to joining FOX Sports as the AFC East reporter, Henry McKenna spent seven years covering the Patriots for USA TODAY Sports Media Group and Boston Globe Media. Follow him on Twitter at @McKennAnalysis.

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