As the Buffalo Bills prepare for the 2026 NFL season, Bills Wire will take a look at the most important contributors on their roster. The team has some cornerstone players who will be returning for another shot at bringing a Lombardi Trophy to Buffalo, and they'll have help from some new additions as well.
Leading up to the season, we will be counting down the top-30 most important players on the roster. We'll recap their 2025 season, look ahead to what they'll offer in 2026, and tackle the most pressing questions surrounding them this coming year.
Next on the countdown is Tyler Bass.
Background
Position: Kicker
Age at start of season: 29
Experience: Six years
2026 cap hit: $3,050,000
2025 recap
Bass' entire 2025 season was spent on injured reserve after suffering painful
hip and groin injuries in training camp and preseason. He underwent surgery in late November to repair a sports hernia. Matt Prater served as the Bills kicker for 2025 in the interim.
2026 outlook
Bass has been cleared to return to football for 2026. At the start of training camp, he was quoted as saying that he's both "feeling good," and "excited to get back." He kicked for the first time publicly in almost a full year at Saturday night's practice, trying to get a feel for kicking in the new stadium. He went a perfect 8-for-8 that night.
Biggest question: What does the future hold?
Basstook a pay cut early this offseason to remain as the Bills kicker, which lowered his cap number by $1.5 million. Bass' contract has a potential out after this season, and it could save Buffalo over $4 million on the cap for 2027 if they part ways. He will not just be playing to remain on the Bills, but in the league as a whole, as the nature of the kicker position can be a cruel one in the NFL. Bass ranked in the bottom-half of the league in field goal percentage in both 2023 and 2024.
30 most important Bills of 2026
Check back as we continue the countdown on our list of the 30 most important Bills ahead of the 2026 season.
This article originally appeared on Bills Wire: 30 most important Bills players of 2026: No. 25 Tyler Bass
