The Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres of course represent the same city and region and have the same owner, but otherwise are entirely different organizations in different sports.
These are things we know.
But the closeness of these franchises — that also share a COO in Pete Guelli — hints that these clubs are more apt to learn from each other than other teams that share a city, or in some cases, a stadium.
And right now, the Sabres are entrenched in serious contract negotiations with one of their stars,
Alex Tuch. The three-time 30-goal scorer, who has eclipsed 65 points in each of the past two seasons in Buffalo, is set to hit unrestricted free agency this summer and, like Josh Allen, turned 30 in May.
He’s been a $4.75 million cap hit in each of his last seven seasons in the NHL, so he’s rightfully looking for a raise. I won’t inundate you with hockey contract discussion here, but depending where you look, Tuch is rumored to want north of $10M per season across eight years. After zero points in the second-round series loss to Montreal, most Sabres fans have soured on the idea that seemed like an absolute no-brainer literally the round before against Boston.
Complicating matters further is the Sabres’ immense pool of exciting and youthful talent that theoretically could replace Tuch’s on-paper production in the aggregate. (yes I will utilize a Moneyball reference whenever I see an opportunity).
At this stage, no one knows what will transpire in the Sabres-Tuch contract dispute.
This all got me thinking.
Who are the Bills players most likely to find themselves in a Tuch-like situation next March?
Let’s drill into the question below.
3. Dorian Williams
Count me among the many amped to watch Williams in Jim Leonhard’s scheme. And the main reason is centered on the basic principles of a three-man front, and how said front impacts the linebackers, particularly on the inside. In this scheme, the inside linebackers — and you can pencil Williams in as one of Buffalo’s two starting, full-time players at that position — have two sets of defenders outside them to handle perimeter gaps on run plays. There are hand-in-the-dirt defensive ends (five techniques) and those flashy, stand-up rush linebackers (outside linebackers).
In a (Sean McDermott) even-man front, off-ball linebackers only have defensive ends outside them before the sideline. That means, in the most basic version of Leonhard’s defense, the inside linebackers aren’t needed to patrol sideline-to-sideline on a down-to-down basis as much and are more responsible for duties as a hammer on inside runs.
There is no one on the Bills roster better suited to act as a hammer on interior runs than Williams. We can all agree on that, right?
Personnel-wise, one of the predictions I feel most confident about regarding the 2026 Bills is that Williams is going to thrive in this new, inside ‘backer role. Not that he doesn’t have sideline-to-sideline range and a lack of it was holding him back in his first three seasons in the NFL.
It’s that with a narrowed, down-the-tunnel focus Williams, in theory, should become the best on-field version of himself. Of course, regardless of scheme, coverage responsibilities remain for linebackers in today’s NFL. However, the perceived weakness in that area for 1,000-plus snap linebacker Alex Singleton and to a lesser degree, Justin Strnad, did not hinder the Broncos defense in 2025 — as a unit, Denver finished the regular season 8th in EPA allowed per drop back in non-garbage time situations, per RBSDM.com
But I settled on the No. 3 spot for Williams simply due to history. Despite the time Brandon Beane spent in Carolina with superstar off-ball linebackers Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis — and Shaq Thompson — back in 2023, with a critical, potentially expensive decision to make at that very position, the Bills ultimately let Tremaine Edmunds walk. They witnessed him sign a $18M APY deal with the Chicago Bears, instead opting for youth at the position with then second-year Terrel Bernard as the green-dot wearing linebacker in the middle of the defense.
That is not to say the Edmunds decision absolutely guarantees Williams will price himself out of a second contract in Buffalo after a stellar 2026. It does telegraph how the Bills are most likely to act on the contract front if such circumstance presents itself at linebacker. And maybe Leonhard’s view of linebackers slightly shifts how the organization values them. And even with my enormous draft crush Kaleb Elarms-Orr as a potential replacement if Williams leaves in 2027, linebacker remains one of the thinest positions right now on the Bills roster.
2. Alec Anderson
Right now, Anderson is the favorite to replace the quietly awesome David Edwards at left guard on the Bills offensive line in 2026.
Can’t write “2026 and beyond,” because Anderson inked a one-year deal to stay in Buffalo for this season only. Career-arc wise, since joining the Bills, Anderson is following in Edwards’ footsteps as once the extra blocker in jumbo situations turned starting guard, so there is precedent for this gradual climb into a prominent role being successful within the Bills operation.
Journeyman Austin Corbett was signed in free agency — also to a one-year deal — therefore, as it currently stands, the Bills don’t have a clear long-term replacement option for Anderson if he signs elsewhere after the 2026 season.
Of course rookies Jude Bowry and Ar’maj Reed-Adams are possible replacements, yet as rookies there’s even more uncertainty with them in a starting role than Anderson himself.
There’s no added penalty for allowing a guard to leave in free agency in back-to-back seasons. It does feel like continued fluctuation up front is not what Buffalo would deem ideal given how stable the blocking contingent has been in front of Josh Allen since his rise to elite-level quarterback.
If Anderson plays anywhere close to an Edwards level in 2026, his agent will be in his ear listing off the names of guards who are making north of $15M per in the NFL today — there are currently a whopping 16 of them. Even if asking for $15M per after one sturdy season as a full-time blocker is ultimately deemed ridiculous by the Bills, all it takes is one team desperate to upgrade its blocking unit — or even just the optics of said upgrade — in front of, say, a young quarterback, to make Anderson that type of offer… and he very well could be gone.
1. O’Cyrus Torrence
Torrence is the easiest answer of this trio and has played closest to a Tuch-like level in the NFL, though not yet reaching Tuch’s star status as a member of the Sabres.
Buffalo has built one of the league’s best offensive lines over the past five years, and it’s been a group justifiably prideful of its cohesiveness and durability.
But now Edwards is gone. While the Bills haven’t often played musical chairs along the offensive line recently, when they’ve needed to, they’ve had an incumbent ready to step in — see Connor McGovern for Mitch Morse and Edwards for McGovern’s move from left guard to center.
Right now, there’s not an obvious replacement for Torrence on the roster at right guard. Are their candidates? Sure — rookies Bowry and Reed-Adams might be the redshirt-type options the Bills have built into the contingency plan if Torrence prices himself out of Buffalo after the 2026 campaign.
Of this trio, Torrence’s established nature comes the closest to mirroring Tuch’s reputation in his respective league, and there’s another parallel to draw — those against handing Tuch a lengthy new deal with more than $10M per likely find themselves in that school of thought because of a perceived capped ceiling for the 30-year-old forward, and it’d be sensible to assume the same with Torrence.
Hockey and football are different when it comes to primes and career shelf lives of players. But it’s not crazy to assume we have already seen who Tuch is — a darn-good playmaking scorer — and who Torrence is — a durable, reasonably reliable yet clearly imperfect guard — at this stage of their respective careers.
Do the Sabres want to spend big for a few seasons of familiar production for Tuch before the inevitable decline in performance? Do the Bills want to give $12M – $17M per season to Torrence, who, while maybe entering the prime of his football career, has largely proven to be the same player in Year 3 that he was as a rookie in 2023?
If Torrence shows any blocking improvement, or even just gives the Bills another 1,200-snap season, a Tuch-like scenario could very easily arise.
