Buffalo Bills free agency tracker: Guard Rodger Saffold signed, Harrison Phillips bolts

Rodger Saffold remembers a time - as do most Buffalo Bills fans - when things weren’t so good for the region’s beloved NFL team.

The veteran offensive guard, who Monday afternoon signed a one-year contract to become the Bills’ left guard, knows all about the 17-year playoff drought Buffalo experienced. Then again, he has also endured some legitimate struggles and frustration throughout his 12-year career.

“It has definitely changed a lot (in Buffalo) but if you know anything about me, when I went to the Rams we weren’t anywhere close either,” Saffold said. “So I definitely understand the building process and how long it takes. It took me eight years to get to my first playoff game.”

Saffold finally made it to the postseason in 2017, and then in 2018 he and the Rams made it to the Super Bowl where they lost to the Patriots.

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He then moved on to Tennessee and made the postseason all three years there, so after the Titans cut him last week, there was really only one thing he was looking for in a new team, and the Bills had it.

“I think it's just because of how close I feel like they are to a championship,” Saffold said. “I mean this is a real Super Bowl caliber team.”

Indeed, times have changed.

Actually, there was another reason why the 34-year-old picked Buffalo. Aaron Kromer, the Rams offensive line coach in his last two years with the team, now works for the Bills and that made the decision even easier.

“Me and Aaron Kromer, we worked together on the LA Rams for two years when we had one of the top offensive lines in the NFL,” he said. “We were able to get to a Super Bowl together, we were able to turn the entire team around and get us to start getting into playoff games. 

“I know his techniques, he always makes sure everything is clear and makes sure things work. I know how successful that I was with him and I know I can be just as successful again. He's just a great guy to work with. Of course he played a big part in my decision to come in.”

Saffold has long been known as a terrific run blocker, and his signing is an indication that Sean McDermott would like his offensive line to be stronger in the run game. Per Pro Football Focus, last year, among 63 guards who played at least 50% of their teams snaps, Saffold graded out 11th-best in run blocking. However, his pass blocking grade ranked him 58th in that category.

But he said his run blocking wasn’t the sole reason he thinks the Bills wanted him. “Honestly, I feel like it was more just, kind of like veteran leadership,” he said. “I have so much experience, I’ve played a million games. Of course, my run blocking expertise definitely comes into play, but I'm still able to hold you down in the pass blocking game. The one thing that I think that I do is I make a lot of people around me better. So I'm hoping I can do that with this group of guys.”

Saffold considered signing with the Bills in 2019 when he hit free agency, but in that case it didn’t work out. The Titans signed him to a four-year, $44 million contract, out of the Bills range. The Bills ultimately signed guard Jon Feliciano in free agency, drafted Cody Ford, and traded for Ryan Bates in training camp.

“It was definitely on my radar,” he said. “Bobby Johnson (who joined the Bills that year as offensive line coach) was also my college offensive line coach, and I always loved working with him. He helped me start this journey before I even got to the NFL. It just didn't work out that way as far as the money went throughout the rest of free agency, and more and more teams came involved. So it just turned into a little bit of a bidding war.”

The Saffold signing was one of several roster moves the Bills made on the first day of the legal tampering period where teams can engage with player agents to complete deals before the 4 p.m. Wednesday free agent signing period begins.

Here’s a look at what else the Bills did:

Daryl Williams release freed cap space

The precursor to the Saffold signing was the release of Williams in a move that gave the Bills $6.3 million in salary cap space which they desperately needed.

Williams re-signed with the Bills as a free agent last year, but his three-year deal worth up to $24 million was consummated with the anticipation that he would be playing right tackle.

Instead, when Ford was benched, Williams was moved inside, and now, his $9.9 million cap hit in 2022 was way too much. 

Williams came to the Bills as a free agent from the Panthers in 2020 and he played all 1,297 of his offensive snaps counting the playoffs at right tackle. Last year he split his time between right tackle and right guard but by the end of the season, he was a full-time guard with Spencer Brown entrenched at right tackle.

With Williams and Feliciano gone and Saffold in the fold, the Bills still have a hole up front. However, they plan to give restricted free agent Ryan Bates a $2.4 million qualifying offer and that should be enough to retain him. 

If he gets other offers, the Bills will have first right of refusal. At this point, if Bates is back, he would compete to win the right guard job with Ford and perhaps Ike Boettger, another free agent coming off a torn Achilles.

Meanwhile, Jon Feliciano, cut by the Bills last week, is rejoining Brian Daboll as he signed a deal with the Giants. It is believed that Feliciano will play center.

Bills swap DTs, sign Tim Settle and DaQuan Jones, lose Harrison Phillips

All along it seemed like the Bills would re-sign free agent defensive tackle Harrison Phillips, but the decision to sign Tim Settle of the Washington Commanders late Monday afternoon clouded that theory. 

Sure enough, a few hours later, the Vikings announced that they were signing Phillips to a three-year deal worth $19.5 million, ending his four-year career with the team.

And then shortly thereafter, it was reported that the Bills will be signing another DT, DaQuan Jones from the Panthers.

Settle, a fifth round pick in 2018, agreed to a two-year, $9 million deal. The 328-pounder really didn’t make much of an impact on a deep Washington defensive line as he played only 1,007 snaps across 63 games in his four seasons there according to Pro Football Focus.

He is not someone who will provide much pass rush, but he is considered a stout run defender which is something the Bills need in the middle. There is a perception in some circles that Settle, with a full-time chance to play, could become a breakout player.

Jones spent his first seven years with the Titans, first as an edge rusher and later as a nose tackle in their 3-4 defense. Last year he was with the Panthers and in 17 games, he made 38 tackles.

Like Settle, the 320-pound Jones will add needed bulk in the middle of the line against the run, and with these two additions, you know Ed Oliver must be smiling because both players should be able to absorb blockers the way Star Lotulelei did in his better days.

As for losing Phillips, he was certainly a fan favorite and someone who was beloved in the locker room by his teammates. But on the field, in reality, he was an average player. He was a third-round pick in 2018 who missed almost all of 2019 with a knee injury.

He worked his way back into the lineup in 2020, playing 332 snaps, and it wasn't until the second half of 2021 before he finally began making a difference. He wound up playing 473 snaps as he took over for Lotulelei as a starter at one-technique and played very well.

“We counted on Harry a lot down the stretch,” Brandon Beane said at the Scouting Combine. “And so he’s been a great person in the community, great in our locker room, and like I said earlier, getting his chance to test free agency. You do have to put your personal feeling aside, that’s my job. As much as you love to bring ‘em all back, you’ve got to put a value on them. And he and his agency have to do their due diligence. So we’ll see. We’ll see where it goes. We would obviously love to have him back, but it’s gotta be at a price that’s fair to him and fair to us.”

Clearly, the number wasn’t right for the Bills.

Bills gave Mitch Morse a two-year extension

Sticking with the offensive line, the Bills made an obvious move to help their salary cap situation as they extended Morse’s deal and thus created $2.2 million of cap space for this season.

According to contract website Spotrac, Morse’s cap hit goes from $11.25 million in 2022 down to $9 million, and then rises to $10.7 and $11 million the next two years. His guaranteed money at signing is $10.64 million.

Morse had a very good 2021 season and is only 29 years old, so keeping him for potentially three more years was a smart move for the Bills as he has already developed a three-year relationship with Allen which now continues.

Of the 12 centers who played at least 80% of their teams snaps, Pro Football Focus had Morse ranked as the fifth-best pass blocker.

“It's at a point now where it's a place for me to be, for my family to be,” Morse said of Buffalo. “Very fortunate position to be in, and it was a great opportunity. The dialogue had been going on for a few days. It really started a few weeks ago, and for me personally, I'd love to retire in a Buffalo Bills uniform. And this gave me an opportunity to continue playing. I think both sides mutually came to a point where they were happy with the deal and then excited.”

Buffalo is where Isaiah McKenzie wanted to be

After playing the past two seasons on one-year contracts that totaled just under $2 million, there was some speculation that the wide receiver would want to test the free agency waters and see what his value was.

But not McKenzie, and so for the third time, he inked a contract to play for the Bills, only this time he’ll make a little more money. His deal is reportedly worth up to $8 million counting bonuses and potential incentives, and it includes team-friendly cap hits of $1.875 million in 2022 and $2.55 million in 2023. 

“I love being here,” McKenzie said. “For me it’s always been about loyalty. I’ve had the same trainer since ninth grade, same friends since I was five years old. It’s about loyalty and the Buffalo Bills have been loyal to me and I wanted to stay loyal to them.”

With McKenzie back, this might be an indication that the Bills will be moving on from the higher-priced Cole Beasley who would count $7.6 million on the salary cap in 2022.

McKenzie originally joined the Bills from Denver in 2018 and got his first meaningly NFL playing time with Buffalo in 2019 and 2020, catching 57 passes for 536 yards and six touchdowns.

Given that output, it was believed that McKenzie would have a slightly expanded role in the 2021 offense, plus, he was slated to replace Andre Roberts as the primary punt and kickoff return man. But that didn’t really happen. He caught only 20 passes for 178 yards, and 11 of the catches for 125 of the yards came in one game - the victory at New England the day after Christmas, the game of his career.

Still, the Bills wanted him back, and McKenzie felt the same way.

“We have a lot of  great things going on,” he said. “With Josh throwing the ball anything can happen, great receiving corps, great coaches, and I just felt like this is the place I want to be. If we could get it done before free agency, that’s all I wanted.”

Steelers will be signing Mitchell Trubisky 

One of the Bills’ most interesting free agents has found a new home as the quarterback will be joining Pittsburgh on a two-year deal worth $14.25 million to replace retired Ben Roethlisberger as the Steelers’ starter.

Trubisky signed a one-year, career reset deal with Buffalo in 2021 to be Josh Allen’s backup. He knew he wouldn’t be playing unless Allen got hurt, but after four inconsistent seasons with the Bears - failing to live up to being the No. 2 overall pick in the 2017 draft - Trubisky needed some down time.

The plan all along, which the Bills knew, was that he would leave after one year and seek a new starting opportunity, and he’s got a great one with the Steelers. 

“I really enjoyed our time with Mitch,” Sean McDermott said at the NFL Scouting Combine. “It’s hard to handle a situation where you’re coming from basically a career starter to being a backup; that’s a totally different dynamic when somebody else is in front of the microphone a couple lockers down from yours.

“I thought Mitch Trubisky handled that extremely well, as good as anybody could have handled it. And then when given the opportunity to play, whether it was in preseason or the regular season, he did a phenomenal job. I think it’s unrealistic to think that we’re going to be able to have him back, but I want him to go on and do great things for him and his family which I know he’s going to do.”

Sal Maiorana can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @salmaiorana.