The Buffalo News reached deep into the bullpen for a fill-in mailbag person, so here are your questions and my answers heading into this week鈥檚 scouting combine in Indianapolis:
Michael Lenhard asks: What鈥檚 your take on University at Buffalo linebacker Shaun Dolac not being invited to the scouting combine? A reflection on the Mid-American Conference, UB or the player?
Ryan: A couple of layers to this question. My initial take is disappointment for Dolac, who was a consensus All-American for the Bulls in 2024 after leading FBS with 168 tackles. He was the only draft-eligible first-team defensive player not invited to the combine.
But the combine, at least this year, isn鈥檛 prioritizing non-Power 4 conference players. Among the 329 players, 105 are from the SEC (31.9%) and a combined 290 (88.1%) from the SEC, Big Ten (79), ACC (60) and Big 12 (46). Only four Mid-American Conference players and seven non-FBS players were invited. It is a reflection of Group of Five and FCS players transferring to big schools to finish their careers.
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Dolac will have his UB Pro Day on March 13. Remember, former UB teammate Joe Andreessen was not invited to last year鈥檚 combine and wasn鈥檛 drafted, but he still made the Bills鈥 roster.
Ed Helinski asks: Could we see Bills general manager Brandon Beane do some wheeling and dealing, given that contract decisions loom with several current players and the Bills possess quite a few draft picks?
Ryan: Two reasons why the Bills aren鈥檛 expected to be active in the first wave of free agency: their limited cap space (they are currently over the cap) and the in-house decisions looming that Ed is referring to.
The Bills鈥 2022 draft in rounds 2 through 7 was a boon, and entering the final year of their contracts are running back James Cook, linebacker Terrel Bernard, receiver Khalil Shakir and cornerback Christian Benford 鈥 the team鈥檚 best players at each of those positions.
Plus, on Beane鈥檚 radar must be quarterback Josh Allen鈥檚 next contract and extensions for defensive end Greg Rousseau (a free agent in March 2026), center Connor McGovern and potentially left guard David Edwards. All should be priorities.
Buffalo Bills defensive end Von Miller could be a salary cap casualty next month.
@FrankDerek16 asks: Will any Bills players be salary cap casualties this offseason mostly due to their cap number (and not performance)?
Ryan: Beane鈥檚 options to create cap space by cutting players is minuscule compared with this time last year, when the Bills cut center Mitch Morse, cornerback Tre鈥橠avious White and safety Jordan Poyer in a six-player swath that saved about $36 million in cap space.
The only major domino this year is defensive end Von Miller. According to the industry website , the Bills can create $8.397 million in cap space but absorb a $15.417 million 鈥渄ead鈥 hit by cutting Miller.
Other options would be reserve safety/nickelback Cam Lewis (鈥渄ead鈥 charge of $212,500 and $1.756 million in space), backup quarterback Mitchell Trubisky ($750,000 鈥渄ead鈥 and $2.5 million in space) and linebacker Baylon Spector ($25,932 鈥渄ead鈥 and $1.1 million in new space).
This doesn鈥檛 include the usual cap gymnastics of converting money into signing bonuses to create space.
Jeff Miller asks: New Bills special teams coordinator Chris Tabor鈥檚 r茅sum茅 doesn鈥檛 seem too encouraging. Since experience at a given position isn鈥檛 necessarily a prerequisite as an assistant coach, didn鈥檛 the Bills have someone in-house to move into that position, or at least somebody with a better r茅sum茅 than Tabor?
Ryan: Coach Sean McDermott has often gone the in-house route at coordinator positions in the last few years, elevating Ken Dorsey and then Joe Brady on the offensive side and Bobby Babich on the defensive end. McDermott promoted Matthew Smiley to special teams coordinator before the 2022 season.
But in firing Smiley on Feb. 9, McDermott clearly had a preference for experience, and Tabor was linked to the Bills on Feb. 12 (his hiring has yet to be officially acknowledged by the team). When a team goes from first-time coordinator (Smiley) to a veteran (Tabor), my lean is that the head coach saw a unit lacking in details.
Tabor has 13 years of coordinator experience. In longtime NFL reporter Rick Gosselin鈥檚 annual special teams rankings 鈥 an average of 22 kicking game categories 鈥 Tabor has shown improvement.
Cleveland (2011 to 2017): Average finish of 22.5.
Chicago (2018 to 2021): Average finish of 16.8, including two ninth-place finishes.
Carolina (2022 to 2023): Average finish of 13.5, including a fourth-place finish.
When the Tabor news came out, I immediately heard from one veteran NFL reporter who praised Tabor. That was good enough for me.
As for a special teams coordinator with a better r茅sum茅, the only name that comes to mind is Darren Rizzi, who finished 2024 as New Orleans鈥 interim head coach. But he reunited in Denver with coach Sean Payton.
Phillip H. asks: Do the Bills need to address their safety position?
Ryan: The Bills should commit to 2024 second-round pick Cole Bishop as one of the starting safeties. But what about Taylor Rapp? The Bills could move on from Rapp ($1,333,334 鈥渄ead鈥 hit and $2,333,332 in new space) if they want to start over.
The duo of Rapp-Bishop worked well together when Damar Hamlin was injured late in the regular season. But Rapp suffered a concussion and then hip and back injuries so at the very least, they need to think about depth options.
If the Bills decline to re-sign cornerback Rasul Douglas, they will need to allocate defensive back resources to replacing him because there isn鈥檛 an in-house option.
Thank you for all the questions this week!
