With the Buffalo Bills‘ recent big acquisition of DJ Moore from the Bears, sacrifices will have to be made. One could come along the offensive line, where a two-year starter could be out the door when free agency begins.
Guard David Edwards is one of two key free agents Buffalo has up front, and Moore’s big contract makes it unlikely the team will be able to keep him, even on the franchise tag.
Saturday’s re-signing of center Connor McGovern only adds to the unlikelihood that Edwards will return to Orchard Park.
USA TODAY‘s Jacob Camenker predicts the New Orleans Saints will sign Edwards in free agency, which would be detrimental to the Bills’ blocking unit.
Why could a team sign Edwards from Buffalo?
“The Saints have spent a lot of recent draft capital along the offensive line, but they still have a hole at left guard,” Camenker wrote. Edwards has started at that position for the last two seasons with the Bills and ranked 10th among interior offensive linemen in ESPN’s run blocking win rate metric.
Edwards’ 71.4 Pro Football Focus grade ranked 19th out of 81 qualified guards last season, and in pass protection, his strong suit, his 73.0 grade ranked 14th.
“There’s no hard feelings if they go maximize their dollars and we can’t afford it. That’s our job,” general manager Brandon Beane said at the NFL Scouting Combine in February. “Our job is, if we can’t make it work, our job is to have the next Connor McGoverns and David Edwards and continue to do that.”
The seven-year veteran has made 37 starts for Buffalo over the last two seasons, including the playoffs, providing leadership as he approaches a big payday in free agency.
Edwards’ projected contract
Spotrac predicts Edwards to be the most valuable free-agent interior offensive lineman on the market, as he’s predicted to get a contract of about $20 million a year. Buffalo is about $13 million over the salary cap right now, according to OverTheCap, even with cutting a few players on Friday, making it hard to afford him.
Edwards’ projected contract would be similar to the deals signed last offseason by Aaron Banks and Will Fries, who each received more than $17 million annually.
There’s no competition at the position either. Mekhi Becton, who had a poor season with the Los Angeles Chargers in 2025, is the next-highest-valued guard, with a projected annual average value of $13.7 million.
The Bills addressed a major need by acquiring Moore, but it won’t come without repercussions. Losing Edwards will very likely be one of them.