It’s widely believed that the Bills will not match Mike Gillislee‘s offer sheet from the Patriots, but no final call has been rendered. Head coach Sean McDermott told reporters today that the team is still in deliberations on the matter. 
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“Mike’s a good player. We’re in the process of evaluating the offer sheet and we’ll have a decision in a few days,” the coach said (Twitter link via team account).
Earlier this week, the Patriots inked Gillislee to a two-year offer sheet worth $6.4MM over two years. Complicating matters for the Bills is that the deal is worth $3.96875MM in year one (exact figure via Ben Volin of The Boston Globe, via Twitter). That’s less than ideal for the Bills since matching the bid will tack on another $2.2MM for the coming year over his previously scheduled $1.797MM rate. Currently, the Bills have $10.8MM in space but they still have to consider the upcoming draft and filling potential holes in late stage free agency (Twitter link).
If Gillislee is plucked away by the Patriots, the Bills will receive a fifth-round draft choice, per the terms of the original round tender. For another $1MM or so, the Bills could have placed the second-round tender on the promising young running back and likely warded off any suitors. After Gillislee averaged 5.7 yards per carry last season and proved himself a potential successor to LeSean McCoy, that probably would have been the smart play.
Wait? The Pats know the Bills players and salary cap better than the Bills? Shocking.