One offseason move for each AFC team: Bengals must keep Tee Higgins; time for Texans to spend
While the Chiefs and 49ers prepare for Super Bowl LVIII, 30 other teams are already preparing for the offseason.
With free agency just five weeks away, here’s at least one move each AFC team — outside of Kansas City — should make.
The Ravens have a host of key defenders heading for free agency, including Jadeveon Clowney, Patrick Queen and Geno Stone, but retaining Madubuike — who just finished the final season of his rookie contract — is key if Baltimore’s defense is to avoid a major dip in 2024. The 26-year-old led the Ravens (and all NFL defensive tackles) with 13 sacks, but it wasn’t just about the QB takedowns. Madubuike also pushed the pocket (logging 64 QB pressures, per Next Gen Stats), caused havoc and ate up double-teams, allowing linebackers free runs to make plays.
With top-paid DTs like Quinnen Williams and Jeffery Simmons recently landing contracts worth more than $90 million, the Ravens could use the franchise tag (projected to be roughly $20 million, per Over the Cap) as a placeholder to ensure Madubuike doesn’t leave Baltimore in 2024. Retaining the DT could mean losing a player like Queen, but that’s the cost of doing business.The future of Stefon Diggs — who carries a $27.9 million cap hit in 2024, per Over the Cap — will garner the most attention, but it would be messy for the cap-strapped Bills to part ways with the wideout, and it would leave an already thin WR corps bare. Instead, expect Buffalo to bid adieu to some trusty veterans. Corner Tre’Davious White, who is coming off a torn Achilles and is set to count for $16.4 million against the cap, is one obvious candidate. Jettisoning Jordan Poyer ($7.7 million cap hit) would leave a hole at safety, especially with Micah Hyde headed to free agency. But after failing to advance beyond the Divisional Round of the playoffs over the past three seasons with their all-in approach, it’s time for the Bills to skew younger and less costly.