INDIANAPOLIS — Buffalo Bills president of football operations and general manager Brandon Beane made his way through various media stations Tuesday at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis.
From One Bills Live, to the podium and a visit with local reporters, Beane gave an extensive update on the start of the Bills offseason.
Topics include his thoughts on the draft class, how the team will get under the cap, the changes the new coaching staff with bring and more.
'We'll find good players' | Laying out his draft approach and analyzing the draft class
When assessing the Bills' draft prospects, Beane said it's important for him to get as much exposure to the players as possible – whether that's the combine, Senior Bowl, the 30 allotted visits each NFL team gets or colleges' individual Pro Days.
"Sometimes that's just breaking bread, sometimes it's on the whiteboard, sometimes it's watching plays and you just pick up so many things," Beane said of the importance of meeting not only as many prospects as possible, but having multiple interactions with them.
As for the 2026 NFL Draft class, in particular, Beane said it's not "top heavy" as he predicts the 2027 class to be. He also noted that it's too early to tell how many first-round grades there are in this class.
Regardless, there are good depth players to go around and Beane is confident that there will be opportunities for Buffalo to pick up the guys they need at certain positions – offense or defense.
"I definitely think there will be players day two and day three that can help us in various roles, whether it's compet[ing] for a start [or] a really good backup," Beane said. "… We'll find good players with that first round pick as well. You just don't know if you're technically going to be selecting out of your first round. It's early to know that."
When draft night comes around, though, Beane and his staff will be ready.
"It's really important to build your board right the next couple of months and let it speak to you what you need to do," Beane said.
Part of the Bills' draft strategy is also managing an aggressive approach. There are benefits to trading away picks in order to get the players the Bills want. Especially with a class that Beane doesn't classify as "top heavy," first-round grades won't last forever.
"You've got a grade that you would say, 'That's a top 10 grade,' and you're at pick 18 to 20, and you're going, 'Man, there's a big drop from there,'" Beane offered an example. "That's when you start to get aggressive and say, 'I need to go up and use some assets.'"
There's a fine balance when it comes to trading away picks to acquire a specific player, though. Beane said on the flip side of that first round scenario is realizing the prospects left on the draft board are more of second or third rounders.
"That's the point where you start saying, 'What assets can we gain to go back,'" Beane said.
Beane is the first to say he can get too aggressive in the draft, which is why he makes sure he has the right people around him.
"I try to put people around me to strap me down to the desk and if they think I'm getting out of line, to at least grab me before I do it and say, 'Are you sure about this?'"
'It's a business' | Bills begin moves to be cap compliant and make free agency decisions
The Bills started making moves this week to get under the projected cap range of $301.2 million to $305.7 million per team. An official number will be finalized ahead of the new league year on March 11.
Beane detailed that Buffalo restructured the contract of right tackle Spencer Brown, freeing up an estimated $10 million in cap space.
Teams can utilize restructures, releases, extensions and trades to create cap space. All options are on the table for the Bills, but they must be done under the right conditions and with a specific intention.
"We're looking at every single avenue here," Beane said. "We have a new staff, so we're trying to make sure we're thinking of everything and not just rushing to decisions."
Another decision that could create cap space involves the contract of tight end Dawson Knox.
Following the end of the season, Knox appeared on the Monday Mornings with Mitch podcast with Mitch Morse and expressed uncertainty regarding his future with the team. While he's not a free agent, Knox acknowledged his looming cap hit and how it could affect Buffalo's roster decisions.
Beane spoke about Knox's future with the team, saying it's still up in the air. If Buffalo retained Knox, it would likely come under a restructured contract with a lower salary.
"We'd be crazy not to want a Dawson Knox back. We know we have to make it work for him and work for us," he said. "So it's TBD at this point, like it is with some other players, too."
With the Bills' coaches, front office executives and scouts all together in Indianapolis for the combine, Beane shared that conversations will continue on additional moves that could be made in the coming weeks.
One of those talking points could include how to handle the free agency of two starting offensive lineman in left guard David Edwards and center Connor McGovern. Both players were free agent additions three years ago and helped anchor the unit as one of the best in the league during that time.
"A credit to everyone involved for how those two guys panned out for us the last three seasons, and I want to thank both those guys for what they've done for us," Beane said.
Their stellar performance, Beane explained, earned them the right to test the free agent market, but the GM added he would love to keep both in Buffalo if possible.
"We'll have a dialogue. Would we love to have them both back? Yes, obviously they did a great job for us," he said.
The Bills started making plans on how to build the roster, discussing scenarios in which they keep both, one or neither.
"It's a business. There's no hard feelings. If they go maximize their dollars and we can't afford it … our job is to have the next Conor McGovern's and David Edwards' and continually do that. And so we have to have plans for both."
'Getting everyone on the same page' | Piecing together the 2026 Buffalo Bills roster
It's "roster building season" for every NFL team, according to Beane. Everyone is on the same playing field with a 0-0 record no matter how the 2025 season ended — missing the playoffs or Super Bowl champion.
New faces across the coaching staff, including head coach Joe Brady, means a new energy at One Bills Drive. While it's not a complete roster overhaul or "start from scratch" approach on either side of the ball, it's still a new vision for what the 2026 Buffalo Bills squad looks like from the scheme on the field to the personalities in the locker room.
Between free agency and the draft, the first step is making sure the everyone in the building is on the same page in order to move forward.
"We've got a new team that we have to build … Obviously, financial constraints can get in the way. You'd love to pay every player or have all the first round picks," Beane said. "… It's just trying to get us all on the same page – the collective – and start over."
As for the pieces that Buffalo already has in its locker room, Beane, Brady and the rest of the staff already started having productive conversations as to what makes sense for the team. As schemes change, the staff got together and discussed what current players' skill sets fit and how certain coaches plan on using them.
For players, like defensive end Greg Rousseau, Beane emphasized his versatility.
"[Rousseau] is going to be a valuable piece. I think we've all decided that and it's just a matter of how we deploy him," Beane said. "I love what [defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard] said is, 'Show me the pieces we have. We'll get him in the right spot.'"
Alongside figuring out where Rousseau best fits Leonhard's defense, nickel cornerback Taron Johnson is part of that conversation. Beane said Johnson's role might shift from being used roughly 90 percent of the time to throwing an additional linebacker out on the field depending on the personnel and scheme Leonhard runs with.
As for safety Cole Bishop, his dual skill set will come in handy for the Bills. Beane said it's likely that no coach will ever turn down an interchangeable skill set.
"I'd love to find another Cole Bishop and pair him right there where you can do both," Beane said. "… If we find a traditional box safety, then he'll probably end up in more free opportunities. But if we find more of a free ranging post guy, then [Bishop's] going to find himself closer to the box."
At the end of the day, Buffalo is focused on putting together a realistic, winning roster that Bills Mafia will be passionate about.
"We're excited about what this 2026 Bills team will be, and it's up to us to put the right product out there to make [the fans] excited and see the vision going forward," Beane said.
'At the right time' | Beane discusses Dalton Kincaid's fifth-year option picked up and more injury updates
Beane confirmed that the Bills will pick up the fifth-year option for tight end Dalton Kincaid, who just completed his third season with the team. Each player selected in the first round of the NFL draft has a team option for a fifth season automatically included in his contract.
"At the right time, we'll knock that out at some point this spring," Beane said on One Bills Live.
Picking up the option gives both Kincaid and the Bills an additional year to negotiate a potential contract extension. Beane spoke positively about Kincaid's impact and "the production that our offense has with him on the field."
The crucial next steps for both parties is finding ways to maximize the TE's availability on the field.
"Our number one thing with Dalton is to see if we can get him in a healthier fashion this year, so that we don't have to A: miss games, and then B: limit how much he's playing," Beane said.
Beane added that Kincaid has been "very intentional" about his rehab process so far this offseason.
Other Bills who have attacked their rehab process include kicker Tyler Bass, defensive end Landon Jackson and defensive end Michael Hoecht.
All three have been at the team facilities frequently this offseason after suffering season-ending injuries in 2025.
"For timelines, I would say Tyler is the closest [to returning] from sports hernia. The other guys will be into the spring, but they're there in Buffalo. It's been fun to see them. And I know they've been up to meet some of the new coaches," Beane said.
Approaching Year 1 knowing it's not a rebuild
As the Bills begin to build for 2026, change is a part of the conversation due to having a new head coach. It's the first year in the Brady era but far from a complete rebuild because the Bills have several important and impact players returning for next season. They've also made the playoffs seven consecutive seasons.
In balancing a new regime with the fact that expectations exist based on roster talent, Beane made it clear that one coach isn't swapping in for another and business continues as usual. It'll be a fresh approach.
"Joe has come in and he'll have different signage up, different pictures up, different things in meeting rooms," Beane said of his new head coach. "He'll have his own sayings and things like that. I think his thing is, let's walk in like this is a fresh, new approach for how we want to build this team, for how we want to do our day. I'm sure there will be some nuances in his scheduling that are different. It's not just going to be, 'All right, one person in, one person out,' and we do everything the same."
Brady is approaching it by bringing a new mindset into the building. He believes it's necessary to shift and change to have better outcomes in the future.
"There's been a foundation that's been set here and it might be a little different in the sense of we understand what expectations and everything that comes with it, but this isn't just, 'Hey, Joe Brady's in and everything's just business as usual, right?" Brady explained. "And so, it's important that everybody in the organization knows it because if we continue to speak about how things used to be, then we'll never continue to go forward. I have so much respect for the past, but it's year one in the organization right now."
Turning over a new leaf in the building might mean a different schedule and new signage because Beane and Brady believe it's important that the players know they are walking into a new environment.
"I think Joe just wants to make sure the guys walk in and feel like, 'Okay, there has been a change here, and this is what we're doing,'" Beane shared. "Not really worried about what the expectations are, just this is year one of a new program. Just because we practiced this way before doesn't mean that's how we're going to do practice now."
