The Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres of course represent the same city and region and have the same owner, but otherwise are entirely different organizations in different sports.<\/p>\n
These are things we know.<\/p>\n
But the closeness of these franchises \u2014 that also share a COO in Pete Guelli \u2014 hints that these clubs are more apt to learn from each other than other teams that share a city, or in some cases, a stadium.<\/p>\n
And right now, the Sabres are entrenched in serious contract negotiations with one of their stars, Alex Tuch. The three-time 30-goal scorer, who has eclipsed 65 points in each of the past two seasons in Buffalo, is set to hit unrestricted free agency this summer and, like Josh Allen, turned 30 in May.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s been a $4.75 million cap hit in each of his last seven seasons in the NHL, so he\u2019s rightfully looking for a raise. I won\u2019t inundate you with hockey contract discussion here, but depending where you look, Tuch is rumored to want north of $10M per season across eight years. After zero points in the second-round series loss to Montreal, most Sabres fans have soured on the idea that seemed like an absolute no-brainer literally the round before against Boston.<\/p>\n
Complicating matters further is the Sabres\u2019 immense pool of exciting and youthful talent that theoretically could replace Tuch\u2019s on-paper production in the aggregate. (yes I will utilize a Moneyball reference whenever I see an opportunity).<\/p>\n
At this stage, no one knows what will transpire in the Sabres-Tuch contract dispute.<\/p>\n
This all got me thinking.<\/p>\n
Who are the Bills players most likely to find themselves in a Tuch-like situation next March?<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s drill into the question below.<\/p>\n
Count me among the many amped to watch Williams in Jim Leonhard\u2019s scheme. And the main reason is centered on the basic principles of a three-man front, and how said front impacts the linebackers, particularly on the inside. In this scheme, the inside linebackers \u2014 and you can pencil Williams in as one of Buffalo\u2019s two starting, full-time players at that position \u2014 have two sets of defenders outside them to handle perimeter gaps on run plays. There are hand-in-the-dirt defensive ends (five techniques) and those flashy, stand-up rush linebackers (outside linebackers).<\/p>\n
In a (Sean McDermott) even-man front, off-ball linebackers only have defensive ends outside them before the sideline. That means, in the most basic version of Leonhard\u2019s defense, the inside linebackers aren\u2019t needed to patrol sideline-to-sideline on a down-to-down basis as much and are more responsible for duties as a hammer on inside runs.<\/p>\n
There is no one on the Bills roster better suited to act as a hammer on interior runs than Williams. We can all agree on that, right?<\/p>\n
Personnel-wise, one of the predictions I feel most confident about regarding the 2026 Bills is that Williams is going to thrive in this new, inside \u2018backer role. Not that he doesn\u2019t have sideline-to-sideline range and a lack of it was holding him back in his first three seasons in the NFL.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s that with a narrowed, down-the-tunnel focus Williams, in theory, should become the best on-field version of himself. Of course, regardless of scheme, coverage responsibilities remain for linebackers in today\u2019s NFL. However, the perceived weakness in that area for 1,000-plus snap linebacker Alex Singleton and to a lesser degree, Justin Strnad, did not hinder the Broncos defense in 2025 \u2014 as a unit, Denver finished the regular season 8th in EPA allowed per drop back in non-garbage time situations, per RBSDM.com<\/a><\/p>\n But I settled on the No. 3 spot for Williams simply due to history. Despite the time Brandon Beane spent in Carolina with superstar off-ball linebackers Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis \u2014 and Shaq Thompson \u2014 back in 2023, with a critical, potentially expensive decision to make at that very position, the Bills ultimately let Tremaine Edmunds walk. They witnessed him sign a $18M APY deal with the Chicago Bears, instead opting for youth at the position with then second-year Terrel Bernard as the green-dot wearing linebacker in the middle of the defense.<\/p>\n