The Buffalo Bills need to open up salary cap space before the 2026 league year kicks off in March. There are some big levers they can pull like restructuring the contracts of several big name players.
They can also cut some veterans to recoup some investment.
The one I want to look at today is safety Taylor Rapp, who struggled in overage in 2025. To be clear, I think he is an average starter in the league and he isn’t overpaid. He is set to make $3.35 million in 2026, and his contract average of $3.5 million per season makes him the 41st-highest paid safety in the NFL. I think his production matches his salary.
But if they feel like Jordan Hancock, Taron Johnson, or a free agent could step in and play just as well with an eye to the future, it could make sense. The Bills only have Cole Bishop, Hancock, and Wande Owens at safety right now alongside Rapp.
How much would the Bills save by cutting Taylor Rapp
If the Bills cut Rapp before the league year opens, they save the full $3.35 million they owe Rapp. None of his 2026 money is guaranteed. If they want to wait until after free agency and the draft, they owe him a $250,000 roster bonus on the fifth day of the league year. So they could pay that and then release him when they have a firm replacement in mind or even during training camp if they wanted to pay his $100,000 workout bonus.
What is the salary cap savings of releasing Taylor Rapp?
Releasing Rapp would not trigger a big dead cap hit. The Bills gave him a modest $2 million signing bonus in 2024 with no void years, so there is only $666,667 remaining in dead cap for the safety, one-third of that signing bonus.
His cap hit on the roster is $3,741,667 so subtract the $666,667 dead cap, and the cap savings is $3.075 million.
However, it isn’t that clean. The Bills will need to replace him on the roster, and the NFL minimum is $885,000 for a rookie up to $1.3 million for a veteran.
So yeah it could be a cap-related move, but it would have way more to do with his scheme fit under new defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard and his play last season before he was hurt.
