Following another dominant season, the Buffalo Bills are faced with the task of whether to bring back Leonard Floyd. Or this could be rephrased to, can the Buffalo Bills afford to bring back Leonard Floyd?
After tying a career high in sacks with 10.5, Floyd is willing to come back to Buffalo but will go where the money goes when he was interviewed back in January. This could lead to a bidding war if the Bills want to retain his services. While he will only be 32 when the season starts, he already has eight years in the league with several notable injuries that he’s played through.
Floyd certainly warrants a market level contract after the season he had with his durability a big reason for his success. However, should the Bills be focused on bringing back an older player on an expensive contract or should they use that money for other players.
Below is Leonard Floyd’s publicly reported medical history and concerns moving forward in re-signing him.
Injury History
Floyd has been in the league since 2016 and has suffered quite a few injuries though not missing anytime since 2017. To read more, check out his injury profile from last year.
2023 Buffalo Bills
Right ankle sprain, Week 2, missed 0 games.
Wrist injury, Week 12, missed 0 games.
Rib injury, Week 15, missed 0 games.
Injury Concerns
His right ankle continues to be problematic as he gets older and he’s already had surgery on the ankle prior to 2022. The ankle injuries continued into 2023 when he suffered the ankle injury in Week 2 and was slowed early on. This issue won’t get any better at this point and is something he has to manage and stay on top of if he does suffer another injury to it.
He eventually worked back into form until the later half of the season when he secured only one sack over the final eight games and none in the last five. Whether this was due to the wrist and rib injuries is unclear. The rib injury was due to a blindside hit against the Cowboys where he limped off briefly holding his side.
As for the wrist injury, he suffered the injury against the Eagles though it wasn’t clear when or how he injured it.
No one injury from this season really sticks out, but it’s more of an accumulation of the injuries over time. Unfortunately we saw some of his production decrease as he worked through the issues.
Drawbacks
His age and accumulating injuries are the biggest concerns in re-signing him. Both are things he can’t change but something to be mindful of when inking a new deal. This shouldn’t stop the Bills or any other team from giving him a contract. But offering a longer deal may not be the wisest financial decision if he begins to show further decline.
He is still very productive in whatever setting he finds himself in which when you boil it down, there aren’t many drawbacks.
Stay or Leave
The timing of this article coming out really dictated whether he could or should stay or leave. Following the events of Wednesday where the Bills made numerous cuts including Mitch Morse, Jordan Poyer, Tre’Davious White, Nyhiem Hines, and Deonte Harty along with more restructures, there is now a bigger chance for Floyd to stay.
The comment he made earlier where he will go where the money goes could change those plans. With the money available following today’s events, the Bills can make a strong push to keep him.
Market Value
Spotrac has Floyd’s market value at $8.1 million AAV. His comparables according to the site include Carlos Dunlap, Jerry Hughes, Cameron Jordan, and Brandon Graham. Floyd is equal or better than everyone other than Jordan and you could make the case that Floyd is better than Jordan, but not at Jordan’s number of $13.9 million AAV.
The $8.1 million is a very palatable number especially with the newly available cap room. He signed for $7 million last year and turned down more money elsewhere. A $1 million pay bump isn’t unreasonable especially after the production he had in 2023.
Final Thoughts
With the available cap, the Bills should make a strong push to re-sign Floyd. They should have a number and stick to it to avoid a bidding war, but it should be a one-to-three year deal to spread out any signing bonus if it goes longer.
His production warrants the money and while I am slightly concerned about a drop off, he didn’t show enough that there should be a strong hesitation to make an honest attempt. The Bills learned from giving a huge deal like they did to Von Miller, but short deals to Floyd allow them to get out easily if he does suffer the inevitable decline.
I’m looking for Leonard Floyd to return in 2024 and help provide strong depth in the face of turnover around the roster.
I wish Leonard Floyd the best in free agency this offseason.
Top Photo Credit: AP/Gary McCullough
