Editor鈥檚 note: This is fifth in a seven-part series looking at the Buffalo Bills鈥 roster heading into the 2025 NFL offseason.
There鈥檚 not a ton of work to do on the Buffalo Bills鈥 offensive line this offseason, and that鈥檚 great for general manager Brandon Beane.
Dion Dawkins, David Edwards, Connor McGovern, O鈥機yrus Torrence and Spencer Brown held up well for quarterback Josh Allen all season.
The starting five is set to return, and that bodes well for the Bills. With giving credit to offensive line coach Aaron Kromer and assistant offensive line coach Austin Gund, Beane had high praise for what the group accomplished this season.
Bills offensive linemen walk to the line of scrimmage against the Chiefs on Nov. 17.
鈥淲hat Aaron Kromer and Austin Gund and that group did was impressive,鈥 Beane said in January. 鈥淵ou always hope, first off, that the group鈥檚 going to stay healthy because that unit, they need that continuity, that communication piece. And those guys played well. We were the first team that rushed for 30 touchdowns and threw for 30 touchdowns. That starts with the guys up front.鈥
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The Bills shored up the group by re-signing Alec Anderson, their jumbo package sixth offensive lineman, and Ryan Van Demark. Their main pending free agent, Tommy Doyle, announced his medical retirement from the league this month.
The Bills often bring in or bring back veterans for depth in the group, with Will Clapp serving that role on the practice squad this season.
As for the starters, McGovern is entering the last year of his contract, and he could be a good candidate for an extension that could lower his salary cap figure for 2025. McGovern moved to center this season and the transition was seamless.
After finishing his second year, Torrence agreed that the continuity of the offensive line would be huge moving forward.
鈥淚 think it does a lot for just the team in general,鈥 Torrence said. 鈥淚 feel like good offensive lines help the team as a whole together. So, seeing that the same five guys are going to be back, and a lot of the same, like backups, are going to be back, I think it鈥檚 gonna help keep the core of the team together.鈥
Bills running back Ty Johnson, middle, follows blocks by聽O'Cyrus Torrence, left, and Spencer Brown against the Chiefs on Jan. 26.
The rest of the offense saw the line work game in and game out as well.
鈥淭hey just do the grunt work, the dirty work, and they鈥檙e happy to do it,鈥 running back Ty Johnson said of the offensive line. 鈥淚 think when you get in the game where you know you鈥檙e just going to be running the ball. I think they like that more than pass (protection) and pass setting, of course. So yeah, they just don鈥檛 get enough credit, and they did a hell of a job all year.鈥
Left tackle Dawkins was named to the Pro Bowl, but Beane felt the line deserved more. Allen likely would lobby the same way.
鈥淚 was very impressed with that group,鈥 Beane said. 鈥淚 was proud that Dion got acknowledged for the Pro Bowl. I felt like we got some snubs. I鈥檓 glad Connor (got) to go as an alternate, but I felt that group as a whole, I thought they鈥檇 get some more recognition than they did.鈥
Under contract: Dion Dawkins, David Edwards, Connor McGovern, O鈥機yrus Torrence, Spencer Brown, Alec Anderson, Sedrick Van Pran-Granger, Tylan Grable, Ryan Van Demark, Travis Clayton, Mike Edwards, Richard Gouraige.
Pending free agents: Will Clapp.
Key question: What does the group do to build on last season鈥檚 strong performance?
Free agency and draft priority: Low.
