The Buffalo Bills and star defensive tackle Ed Oliver have agreed to terms on a four-year, $68 million contract extension, which included $45 million guaranteed, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Oliver’s $45 million guaranteed is tied for eighth-most most among active interior defensive line contracts, and with his $10.753 million fifth-year option included, Oliver is set to average $15.75 million in salary over the next five years which ranks 16th among interior defensive lineman.
Prior to signing Oliver to the contract extension, the Bills did not have a defensive tackle signed for the 2024 season, or beyond that.
“I would like to not end the season and be at zero [defensive tackles under contract in 2024],” Bills general manager Brandon Beane said during the team’s rookie minicamp this year. “That would be my hope. But it would have to make sense. If it’s somebody that’s here, now, it would have to make sense to do an extension with any of those guys, so we’ll see. You know me well. We’ve found a way to sometimes do an extension or two in training camp, so maybe we look at it at that point, see where the guys are at, who’s all in, who’s looking good, and if there’s a chance to get one extended, we might look to do that.”
Oliver, 25, was set to play on his fifth-year option in 2023.
“I think you have to weigh when did you think he was healthy? And what did that look like? And how did he affect the whole group,” Beane said in March regarding Oliver. “And, you know, he definitely didn’t have the production he wanted, but how much of that was affected by missing games or he was playing at 85% versus being 100%?”
“When you have the kind of talent that Ed has, you gotta understand situations, that could mean the difference in separating yourself from the opponent,” Bills senior defensive assistant/defensive line coach Eric Washington said of Oliver this offseason. “I’ve gotta be able to process very, very quickly and, so that I can win my one-on-one, so I can play ahead of a play as opposed to playing with the sequence of that particular play. So, with where Ed is, from an experience standpoint, we need him to anticipate and play ahead as opposed to playing with the tempo of the play.”
