State of the Buffalo Bills’ roster: Interior offensive line

With one major decision looming, this group is otherwise in good hands

The 2023 vintage of the Buffalo Bills had some terrible issues with injuries. However, one place where their injury luck improved over the 2022 version of the squad was along the interior offensive line. While Buffalo dealt with a plethora of injuries up front during the 2022 season, the Bills’ offensive line was healthy for essentially the entire 2023 season.

The Bills started the same combination of offensive linemen all season long, including in the playoffs. That included starting a rookie, a new free-agent signee, and a veteran who spent some time out of the lineup in 2022 for all of the team’s 19 games. It’s no surprise, then, that the offensive line performed significantly better this year than the previous season given that the Bills were able to play the same group together all year long.

In today’s edition of the state of the Buffalo Bills’ roster, we’ll discuss the interior offensive linemen. This is a group that could just as easily be set in stone as it could be one facing a slight facelift this offseason.

Mitch Morse

Contract status for 2024: Signed; final year of two-year, $19.5 million extension ($11.47 million cap hit; $3 million dead-cap charge if released or traded; 4.73% of total team cap)

Age: 31 (32 on 4/21/2024)

Playing time: 17 games (17 starts), 1,129 offensive snaps (97% of team total)

Key statistics: Five penalties, one sack allowed

Morse has long been my favorite member of the offensive line, as his steady contributions as both a run blocker and pass blocker have been of extreme importance throughout his time with the Bills. He’s at his best in the run game attacking second-level defenders when pulling, and he does a great job at the point of attack in the passing game, as well. This season, he was able to play in all 17 games for the Bills, which was a good sign after he missed three games last year due to various injuries. Morse isn’t as old as I thought he was, but given that he’s creeping upward in age and he’s one of the team’s highest-paid players at a position where they have some depth, it’s fair to wonder whether he’ll be with the club next season. The Bills essentially have two options: They either need to sign Morse to a contract extension that spreads his cap hit out over the course of a few years, or they need to release him in order to clear more space. The business of football can be a cold one, and Morse’s situation could well be a stark example of exactly that.

David Edwards

Contract status for 2024: Unsigned; UFA

Age: 26 (27 on 3/20/2024)

Playing time: 17 games, 80 special teams snaps (19% of team total), 148 offensive snaps (13% of team total)

Key statistics: One penalty, zero sacks allowed

Edwards was Buffalo’s “lineman eligible” in their heavy packages, and he did a great job playing as a sixth offensive lineman-slash third tight end. He signed a one-year deal at the veteran’s minimum last offseason — and if the Bills can re-sign him for a similar contract, it would certainly make sense to do so. Edwards may wish to explore other options, though, that might lead to a starting gig. He’s earned the right to test his market.

Connor McGovern

Contract status for 2024: Signed; second year of three-year contract ($7.9 million cap hit; $6 million dead-cap charge if released or traded; 3.26% of total team cap)

Age: 26 (27 on 11/3/2024)

Playing time: 17 games (17 starts), 1,136 offensive snaps (98% of team total), 79 special teams snaps (18% of team total)

Key statistics: Four penalties, two sacks allowed, one fumble recovered

For much of the season’s first half, it felt as if McGovern was underwhelming. What I mean by that is that he was hard to notice on the line, as the first-year member of the Bills was a steady, if unspectacular, performer. However, the more I thought about it as the season progressed, the more I thought about just how good a trait that is for an offensive lineman. McGovern quietly was very solid this past year, contributing greatly to the second-half surgery in the team’s rushing efficiency while also keeping quarterback Josh Allen upright. While McGovern’s Pro Football Focus grade was atrocious (58.5), I’m not going to pretend that I know how they determine what they call their “grades.” As the year wore on, it was apparent that McGovern was a solid addition to the line.

O’Cyrus Torrence

Contract status for 2024: Signed; second year of four-year rookie contract ($1,413,859 cap hit; $2,176,033 dead cap charge if released or traded; .58% of total team cap)

Age: 24 (25 on 1/20/2025)

Playing time: 17 games (17 starts), 1,164 offensive snaps (100% of team total), 80 special teams snaps (19% of team total)

Key statistics: Six penalties, three sacks allowed, one fumble recovered

Torrence was a draft crush of mine last year, and I even went so far as to advocate for the team selecting him in the first round. That would have been a bad choice, it turns out, since Buffalo was still able to snag Torrence with their second-round selection. He immediately stepped in as the starting right guard, and while his performance varied at times, he was quite strong for a rookie. He struggled against some high-level competition (Chris Jones, for one), but he was a solid presence on the right side of the line. In run blocking, Torrence was excellent. If he works on his technique in pass protection, combining that with study and extra work with right tackle Spencer Brown in communicating pass protection calls, he should take a big leap forward in 2024. The Bills had to hit on their draft choices last year, and Torrence definitely seems to be a “hit.”

Ryan Bates

Contract status for 2024: Signed; third year of four-year contract ($5.439 million cap hit; $4.006 million dead-cap charge if released or traded; 2.24% of total team cap)

Age: 27 (28 on 2/14/2025)

Playing time: 17 games, 79 special teams snaps (18% of team total), 35 offensive snaps (3% of team total)

Key statistics: N/A

Bates is a very valuable — and very expensive — reserve for a Buffalo Bills team that has some serious salary cap issues to solve this offseason. Do the Bills trust Bates to slide in as the starting center if they choose to release Morse? Would they attempt to redo Bates’ contract to add years and spread his salary cap hit out further down the line? Would they release Bates to save only a bit over $1 million on the 2024 salary cap? Much of the decision about Bates has nothing to do with the player himself and everything to do with what the Bills decide to do with Morse.

Kevin Jarvis

Contract status for 2024: Signed reserve/future deal on 1/22/2024 ($799,500 cap hit; $9,000 dead cap charge if released or traded; .33% of total team cap)

Age: 25 (26 on 12/22/2024)

Playing time: N/A

Key statistics: N/A

Jarvis spent the offseason with Buffalo, was released prior to the start of the 2023 season, and signed to the practice squad thereafter. He wasn’t active for any games this season. After the Bills lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in the playoffs, Jarvis was signed to a reserve/futures contract, ensuring that he will start the 2024 league year under contract with the Bills.

Greg Mancz

Contract status for 2024: Unsigned; UFA

Age: 31 (32 on 4/23/2024)

Playing time: N/A

Key statistics: N/A

Mancz spent the offseason with Buffalo, was released prior to the start of the 2023 season, and signed to the practice squad thereafter. He wasn’t active for any games this season, and his contract expired at the conclusion of the Bills’ season. He was not offered a reserve/futures contract.

Buffalo is just as likely to run it back next season with the same three starters, and perhaps even the same top two reserves, as they are to have a slightly new look in this grouping. Torrence and McGovern are locked in as starters, and Bates likely isn’t going anywhere since they’d owe essentially as much cap space to keep him as they would to release or trade him.

The big decision comes down to what they’re going to do with Morse. During the season, and really up until writing this piece, I assumed it would be a bad move to move on from their center regardless of the cap hit. Morse has plenty in the tank, and the offensive line was a strong point, so the team likely wants to keep the band together for at least one more season.

However, the interior line is a place of strength for the Bills. Ryan Bates is a very good offensive lineman, and while he did fine work at right guard, he’s likely best suited to play center. He’s younger than Morse by five years, he costs less on the cap, and he’s been with the offense long enough where he knows the calls inside and out. While I hate myself a little bit for thinking this way, based on the financials, I think that the Bills may find themselves in a situation where their best option to ensure that they can add at positions of need is to release Morse.

That move saves over $8 million in cap funds. Some of that can be spent re-signing David Edwards to a low-cost contract if he can’t find a starting gig elsewhere. A two-year deal worth up to $6 million in incentives could allow the Bills to keep his cap hit low this year while also making it worth his while to remain on as a high-quality reserve and part-time contributor in heavy packages on offense. The Bills could look elsewhere on the veteran’s minimum market, as well, to add some interior depth.

Whether the team keeps Morse or releases him, drafting a center in the late-to-mid rounds is a good idea. Delmar Glaze from Maryland has the kind of positional versatility that the Bills covet, as he’s played both tackle positions in his college career but also has the versatility to play inside. If Bates, who has played everywhere along the line at some point, moves into the starting lineup, adding someone with a great deal of versatility would be a good move. Wisconsin’s Tanor Bortolini and NC State’s Dylan McMahon profile as solid multi-positional backups, while Florida’s Kingsley Eguakun is a fit if the team wants a dedicated center late in the draft.

We’ll know Buffalo’s direction once they make a decision on Morse’s contract, but either way, this is a positional group where the Bills likely already have their starting group on the roster. Whether that group involves Mitch Morse or Ryan Bates will come down less to football than it will to financials.