This is what happens when you don’t take your opportunities. The Buffalo Bills are paying the steep, devastating price of constantly failing as they had to release FOUR core players already to clear up cap space.
These last few days have been very somber for all Bills fans.
Despite having one of the best rosters in all of football, the Buffalo Bills have been forced to cut four of their core defensive and offensive players in order to stay cap complaint as they are now feeling the full effect of losing in the biggest moments. And, I’m not sure if Buffalo can overcome these losses for next season.
Jordan Pryor, Micah Hyde, Mitch Morse, Tre’Davious White, and Nyhiem Hines. All key players in the Bills starting lineup…and all now free agents.
Yeah, if you haven’t heard the news, the Buffalo Bills have spent the better part of the last 48 or so hours cutting into their $41M cap deficit by releasing key, veteran, and core players to remain complain with the NFL’s cap rules for the next season. And, that’s really hit the Bills defense hard as they have allowed Micah Hyde (starting safety) to walk into free agency, cut backup CB Siran Neal, cut 2X All-Pro corner Tre’Davious White after he’s missed the last two seasons with ACL and Achilles injuries, and cut team captain and heart of the defense safety Jordan Pryor as his cap hit was just too high.
Oh, but don’t be fooled into thinking that ONLY the defense was impacted as the Bills also cut newly acquired RB Nyheim Hines, 5-year starting (and a Pro Bowler too) center Mitch Morse, and All-Pro (albeit with the Saints four years ago) kick returner Deonte Harty in the last 48 hours too.
Essentially, the Bills have needed to gut large portions of their roster for the sad, sorry truth about that Bills teams could never be broken: they couldn’t win in the big moments.
Whether it was losing to the Chiefs in the Conference Title game at the start of their run back in 2020, losing to the Chiefs again the very next season in that epic, last-second comeback and OT win by Mahomes in 2021, getting hammered by Joe Burrow and the Bengals IN BUFFALO when the Bengals went on their SB run two seasons ago, or this past postseason when Tyler Bass missed wide right to see the Bills get beaten at home (despite being favorites) by…you guessed it, the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Bills had four serious shots at winning the Super Bowl (or at least just making it to the big game), and they failed in EACH of those team-defining moments. And, reversely, their great nemesis, the Chiefs, have gone on to win 3 of the last 4 Super Bowls after beating the Bills and Cincinnati made it all the way to the Super Bowl in 2022 after reigning supreme over Buffalo.
That’s a MASSIVE indictment on this Bills team as they had a Super Bowl berth in their hands, and yet could never get the job done for some reason or another. And this is the consequence of failing as they have.
Losing in these big games not only impacts the team and fanbase after the game ends with lost hope and miserable regrets, but it also destroys the ability for the franchise to keep its star players for another run as they just become too costly to keep around on a losing team.
And, in turn, that causes the chemistry of the team to break down, the traditions of the successful regular seasons to be lost on the newcoming players, the foundations of a potential championship to be rebuilt (and often poorly), and the belief of the remaining players to waver if they will ever win.
Losing in the playoffs or any big day does really sting that night, the week after, and even the month after, etc.; but it’s not what hurts the franchise the most as it is the realization that the promising, title-contending team needs to be broken up without winning anything of REAL importance (aka: AFC title, Super Bowl title) in order to stay complain with the NFL’s cap rules.
And that’s what the Bills are going through right now.
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