The Buffalo Bills are making salary cap space, releasing veteran cornerback Taron Johnson. But how much money will they actually save?
The Buffalo Bills are making moves to get salary cap compliant by the start of the new league year.
According to multiple reports, Buffalo is releasing veteran cornerback Taron Johnson.
The decision to release Johnson comes after eight seasons with the Bills. Drafted in the fourth round in 2018, Johnson became one of the better nickel corners in the league during his time in Buffalo.
In his eight years in Buffalo, Johnson had six interceptions, eight forced fumbles, and 48 passes defended in 113 games. Johnson was even voted second-team All-Pro in 2023.
He also, to many, has one of the greatest plays in Bills postseason history—a 101-yard pick-six against the Baltimore Ravens in the 2020 playoffs.
In his final season with Buffalo, Johnson played just 58% pf the defensive snaps, the lowest total since 2019. He played in just 13 games with 57 tackles, four passes defended, and no interceptions.
With a new system and coaching staff coming in under Joe Brady and Jim Leonhard, Johnson's release seemed to be one of the more expected ones this offseason.
As far as the salary implications are concerned, it's expected that Johnson will be one of the two post-June 1 designation releases. By labeling it as a Post-June 1 cut, the Bills will save $8.67 million on their 2026 salary cap. Should it be a standard release, Johnson would clear up just $1.9 million this year and carry a $9.5 million dead cap.
With this, the dead cap hit is spread out over two years, and sits at just $2.74 million this year.
Despite this move, it doesn't appear the Bills are done in terms of working around the salary cap. Buffalo is expected to be a player in free agency next week. To do that, they still have to move out contracts and even restructure a few to make the space needed to pay new players.
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