To get past the Kansas City Chiefs, the Buffalo Bills must improve in 2025. To do so, they must also bring back key contributors from this past season.
Bills' head coach Sean McDermott chatted with NFL Network Insider Judy Battista Tuesday while visiting Indianapolis for the NFL Combine. Of course, the success of 2024 was a topic of discussion, but so were the perils of losing to the Chiefs for the fourth time in the last five postseasons.
As far as getting over that "stumbling block" that is Kansas City, McDermott believes the first step in improving this offseason is by Buffalo retaining players who are scheduled to hit free agency:
"Well No. 1 is always going to be, Judy, how we retain our players," McDermott said. ''There's a market out there for our players. So, it's important for us to get as many of those players back as we can and look to add from there."
That list of free agents includes Mack Hollins, Rasul Douglas, Damar Hamlin, and Ty Johnson, among others. Seeing that Brandon Beane made sure to extend 2024 standout Khalil Shakir on Tuesday, one could only imagine how Beane is looking to bring more names from this group back into the fold.
Hollins may be the biggest personality in the Bills' locker room, but his reliability on the field made him one of the biggest value signings of 2024. Douglas has been a steady player in the Buffalo secondary since making his way over from Green Bay in 2023. Hamlin nearly recorded the second 90-tackle season of his career this year and Johnson became one of the top weapons for the Bills offense deeper into the season.
Buffalo may not be able to secure all these guys back. But if the Bills are to advance to their first Super Bowl since the 1993 season, bringing back many of these pieces would go a long way.