The Buffalo Bills would be smart to figure out the contract situation with starting guard O’Cyrus Torrence sooner rather than later. Not only because the price is going up, but because Torrence has earned every cent of what he’s got coming to him.
Bleacher Report’s Gary Davenport put Torrence, 6-foot-5 and 330 pounds, on the list of the NFL’s “Most Important Contract Decisions” in 2026.
“Buffalo Bills guard O’Cyrus Torrence might not be a household name, but he has become an important part of the Bills’ offensive line,” Davenport wrote on August 2. “He has started 50 of a possible 51 games over his three seasons in Western New York and all seven of Buffalo’s postseason games over that span … It’s not an extension that will be cheap — Spotrac estimates that an extension for Torrence would be three years at an average of $13.1 million a season.”
In 2026, Torrence will be in the final season of his 4-year, $6.22 million rookie contract.
O’Cyrus Torrence Likely to Exceed Market Value
For his age and potential, the 26-year-old Torrence would be smart to ask for much more than the projected $39.3 million contract extension from Spotrac.
For Torrence, it shouldn’t be out of the question to become 1 of the NFL’s 10 highest-paid players at his position — something closer to a 3-year, $45 million contract extension that puts him around $15 million per season.
Kansas City Chiefs guard and 2-time Super Bowl champion Trey Smith is the NFL’s highest-paid guard on a 4-year, $94 million contract that pays him approximately $23.5 million per year.
Torrence started his college career with 3 seasons at Louisiana, where he was a 2-time All-Sun Belt Conference selection, then transferred to Florida for his final season and was All-SEC and All-American in 2022.
“Broad guard prospect whose physical limitations are balanced by his feel for the job and ability to use his size in his favor,” NFL draft analyst Lance Zierlein wrote in his pre-draft evaluation. “Torrence is not a natural bender. He is forced to engulf and push rather than leverage and drive as a run blocker, but he’s solid at neutralizing the man across from him. He uses his hands well to jab and maintain feel for the rush, but quick interior rushers with well-developed counters could be too much for his limited foot quickness to handle without help. He projects as a future starter for downhill offenses who covet size over athleticism.”
Bills Already Paying Big for Offensive Linemen
The Bills are already paying big money for their starting offensive tackles.
Buffalo signed Dion Dawkins to a 3-year $60.6 million contract extension in March 2024 and signed Spencer Brown to a 4-year, $72 million contract extension in September 2024.
Dawkins and Brown also get called for a lot of penalties. Both players landed on PFF’s list of the NFL’s 10 most penalized players since 2021.
“The Bills have been one of the most-penalized teams altogether since 2021, and seeing both Dawkins and Brown on this list helps explain that,” PFF’s Bradley Locker wrote. “Brown has been called for an infraction 44 total times, placing in the top 16 in both holds and false starts … Dawkins has posted 56 penalties in the past half-decade while blocking Josh Allen’s blindside … the last two campaigns have been particularly rough in this department, with Dawkins collecting 25 penalties. If it’s any consolation, Dawkins’ 5,824 snaps are the most among all tackles over the past five years, making his penalty rate more palatable.”
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