The Buffalo Bills made their first move in free agency on Friday morning during the week of the NFL Scouting Combine. With the new league year just a few short weeks away, the Bills got a head start on proceedings, signing S Sam Franklin Jr. to a three-year, $7.5 million deal, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. The contract includes $5 million over the first two seasons.
Fowler described Franklin as a “core” special teamer for the Bills, with 13 tackles last year. A former undrafted free agent out of Temple, Franklin spent the first five years of his career with the Panthers. In Carolina, he was a rotational safety on defense (and also played some special teams). In Buffalo, he’s almost exclusively a special teamer.
The Buffalo Bills Have Some Cap Balancing Ahead of Them
GettyDENVER, COLORADO – JANUARY 17: Sam Franklin Jr. #28 of the Buffalo Bills takes the field prior to the AFC Divisional Playoff game against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field At Mile High on January 17, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)
Yesterday, in an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, Bills GM Brandon Beane said Buffalo is working with “not enough” money in free agency. The salary cap is expected to take a significant jump this year, but the Bills are already over the cap, and that’s before they sign their draft picks and make any free agent additions to improve the roster.
Franklin’s contract is affordable and lets the Bills retain an important special teamer. It’s the sort of move that won’t get fans all excited but will improve the roster — but Buffalo is far from being finished. This defense still has a lot of holes and the need for a No. 1 option at wide receiver continues to loom.
The Buffalo Bills Will Try to Reclaim the AFC East Title in 2026
For nearly two decades, Tom Brady’s presence in New England meant that no other team in the AFC East had a realistic shot to win the division. When he moved on to Tampa Bay, that opened the door for Josh Allen and the Bills to take over the divisional throne.
And take it over they did, with the Bills winning five straight AFC East titles and making two AFC Championship Game appearances in that span. Allen’s emergence into one of the league’s best quarterbacks — culminating in an MVP award in 2024 — certainly helped, as did the combination of an explosive offense with a veteran defense.
But over time, the Bills’ defense got older and began to degrade, while the offense wasn’t given the personnel to continue its run of success. More and more was placed on Allen’s plate, and by 2025, Buffalo was only as good as Allen’s performance, particularly in big games.
This opened the door for the Patriots to rise, storming back to reclaim the AFC East in 2025. The Bills are poised to battle them for the division in 2026, with both the Jets and Dolphins expected to be among the league’s worst teams. Allen and the Bills will have a great chance to retake their position and make another run at a Super Bowl.
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