Buffalo Bills Re-Sign Key Pending Free Agent

The Buffalo Bills have found a way to bring back one of their own pending free agents. According to multiple reports, the Bills have re-signed center Connor McGovern to a new multi-year contract.

First reported by ESPN's Adam Schefter, Buffalo and McGovern have agreed to a four-year, $52 million contract. The contract also includes $32 million in guaranteed money. 

The news of McGovern's return comes just days after he made statements saying that the team hadn't reached out to him since the season wrapped up. While admitting that he wanted to return and wouldn't need top money to do so, he said that he believed his time was "over and done".

Turns out it wasn't.

The 28-year-old returns after spending the last three seasons with the Bills. He was originally signed as a guard after coming over from the Dallas Cowboys in 2023. After one season playing guard, however, McGovern moved to center after Mitch Morse was released.

He then quickly became one of the better and more reliable centers in the league. In his three years with the Bills, McGovern has started 49 of a possible 51 regular-season games and all seven playoff games. His play even earned him an invite to the Pro Bowl in 2024.

Had he hit the open market, McGovern was expected to command as much as $16-$17 million. As he told Tim Graham of The Athletic, however, he didn't need to make that much. He just wanted an amount that showed the team respected him.

"Do I need all the money in the world? No, but there’s a respect factor involved, too," he said at the time. "There’s a certain number in my head that I would have no problem accepting, and then I don’t need to go to free agency."

Ultimately, the Bills met the number he had, and Josh Allen will keep his center for another four years. 

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