Bills put money on the line
The Buffalo Bills took care of one more offensive lineman Wednesday.
Right guard Brad Butler signed a multiyear contract extension, which gives the Bills three offensive linemen who are happy, healthy and signed to long-term contracts. Derrick Dockery and Langston Walker are the other two.
Center Melvin Fowler is entering the last year of his contract.
Then, of course, there is left tackle Jason Peters, who has three years remaining on his deal but wants a new contract. Because he skipped all of the team’s spring practices, Peters’ status remains the biggest contractual uncertainty hanging over the Bills this summer.
Butler took over a starting position the week before the season opener last season, even though he missed most of training camp with a hamstring injury and played in only the final preseason game of the summer. Nevertheless, Butler held down the starting job all 16 games and got good reviews from Bills coaches.
Butler has great size, at 6-foot-7 and 315 pounds, and the Bills like his intense temperament on the field. He was a sixth-round draft pick out of the University of Virginia in 2006.
Butler still had two years remaining on his original contract. He was due to make $445,000 this year and $530,000 next year. Terms of the deal were not available. A raise pushing him up to $3 million a year or more was a possibility.
The signing continued a trend by the Bills of targeting young talented players and signing them to extensions early in their careers. The Bills did that with Aaron Schobel, Terrence McGee, Brian Moorman, Roscoe Parrish and Peters.
There remained no comment from the Bills or Peters’ representatives about his contract talks. The Bills also are engaged in contract talks with receiver Lee Evans, who is entering the final year of his contract.
It’s believed Bills management was hoping to wait another year before reworking the deal for Peters. He signed his contract extension in July 2006 and has an escalator in the contract that increases his base salary for playing left tackle. However, the maximum value of the deal is $4 million a year, which still puts him third on the Bills’ offensive line. After making the Pro Bowl last season, Peters wants an extension.
Meanwhile, the Bills also signed rookie tight end Derek Fine to a contract.
Fine was the second of the Bills’ two fourth-round picks in April’s draft. He was a three-year starter at Kansas and set the school’s tight end career record with 98 catches for 1,009 yards and 10 touchdowns. In his senior year, he caught 46 passes. Fine was the 132nd overall pick.
Fine is the third of the Bills’ 10 draft picks to sign with the team, joining defensive backs Reggie Corner and Kennard Cox.
