Bills create salary cap wiggle room by restructuring two defensive contracts

The Buffalo Bills created some space under the salary cap heading into the regular season by restructuring the contracts of two defensive linemen Tuesday morning.

ESPN’s Field Yates reports that Buffalo has restructured the contracts of defensive end AJ Epenesa and defensive tackle DaQuan Jones, creating $2.78 million in cap space. Both contracts were just signed by the Bills this summer; the team re-signed Epenesa to a two-year, $12 million contract in mid-March, and signed Jones to a two-year, $16 million extension shortly after.

These moves are likely not a sign of upcoming roster changes, but rather a way to create financial breathing room if the team is forced to make a personnel move at some point during the season. General manager Brandon Beane has long talked about the importance of having in-season breathing room, which these moves help provide; Buffalo is still $395,000 over the salary cap, according to OverTheCap, but it doesn’t appear the outlet has updated the team’s financials following the Epenesa and Jones moves. These moves could bring the team back under the salary cap, with more moves still possible before kickoff, if desired.

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