Buffalo Bills must keep Cordy Glenn at all costs
Buffalo Bills franchise left tackle Cordy Glenn isn’t just one of the best impending free agent offensive linemen this offseason; he’s one of the marquee impending free agents, period.
The two best offensive linemen on the Buffalo Bills, Cordy Glenn and 2015 offseason addition Richie Incognito, could hit the free agent market when the new league year begins in March, and while Incognito had the more impressive season due to his ridiculous work in the running game, Glenn is clearly the more valuable of the two going forward. Glenn is younger, doesn’t come with the past issues Incognito does (though, if anything, Rex Ryan sees that as a positive), and it’s exponentially more difficult to find a star LT than an elite guard.
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Ever since coming into the league as a second-round pick out of Georgia in the 2012 NFL Draft, Glenn has been one of the best left tackles in the NFL. He’s been a steady pass blocker on the left side of the Bills line in each of his past four seasons, and only Tyrod Taylor and Sammy Watkins can claim to be more valuable to the Bills offense. Glenn is one of the five most important players on the Bills, and even when the line struggled before the 2015 season, he was a clear bright spot.
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Recently extended GM Doug Whaley called keeping both Glenn and Incognito a “major point of emphasis”, according to WKBW’s Joe Buscaglia, and it’s easy to see why the Bills are dead set on doing what they can to retaining both. I don’t think Whaley’s words are just empty rhetoric either, because those two players are foundation parts of the offense, even if Incognito will be 33 when the 2016 season opens up.
With Mario “Cares Even Less Than Cutler” Williams set to come off the books, the Bills will have more than enough ammunition to re-sign both players. That said, Glenn is the player they need to keep at all costs, and whether that’s slapping the franchise tag on him or signing him to a big-money contract, that’s exactly what they need to do.
Every long-term deal carries some inherent risk to it, and we’ve seen even safe players disappoint when given big contracts. Williams’s poor play might cause some Bills fans to worry about handing out big money to players, but Glenn is a different beast from Williams. He’s younger, plays the most talent-scarce positions in the NFL (just look at how many teams over-draft tackles out of desperation for one), and he’s been a top player in every season, regardless of how well his team or fellow offensive linemen have performed.
I hesitate to use terms like “safe bet”, but Glenn seems like a low-risk player to me. At 26 and safely one of the best pass protectors in the league, Glenn’s arrow is, at a minimum, pointing slightly upwards. There aren’t many proven commodities at the position, and a 26-year-old with four good seasons of tape at the left tackle position qualifies as elite.
Browsing the top left tackle contracts on OverTheCap.com, it becomes clear that the Bills will have to pay Glenn around $11 million per season. Last year, the Indianapolis Colts inked Anthony Castonzo to a four-year extension worth about $43 million with 41.1% of his contract being guaranteed. And if you think Castonzo is a better player than Glenn, you probably have some sort of inherent bias here, because Glenn is notably better and more consistent.
Tyron Smith makes upwards of $12 million per year with Trent Williams earning over $13 million per seasons, but those two are the best of the best as far as young tackles go. There’s a chance Glenn could net $12 million per season, too, and if that’s what he’s dead set on making, the Bills should pay him what he wants after tagging him.
Glenn hasn’t missed a game since he missed three as a rookie in 2012, so he’s also going to command a great deal of guaranteed money. I’d put his Guarantee% in the same realm as Castonzo’s, albeit with more money coming his way.
It wouldn’t surprise me if the Bills sign him to a four-year deal worth $45 million with about $19 million in guarantees. That qualifies as a mega deal and would be slight overpay, but with market values rising and steady left tackles scarcer than ever, you couldn’t criticize the Bills for getting that deal done.
They need Glenn, and while the Bills have leverage here due to the presence of the franchise tag, Glenn, who won the team’s Ed Block Courage Award in 2015, can get what he wants.
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Remember, the Bills don’t exactly have a settled right tackle situation either, which means that losing Glenn would suddenly make offensive tackle the biggest need on their roster. If I were the Bills, I would get rid of Williams and franchise or re-sign Glenn.
Edge rushers are important, but the Bills have Jerry Hughes, and, well, it’s a lot easier to find a good edge rusher off the street- and one who fits Ryan’s scheme better- than it is to find a capable blindside protector for Taylor.