The Buffalo Bills have made a trade to move up a bit in the 2026 NFL Draft by trading Taron Johnson to the Raiders.
With the league year set to start on March 11, the Buffalo Bills have traded cornerback Taron Johnson.
First reported by ESPN, the Bills are trading Johnson and a seventh-round pick in this year's draft to the Las Vegas Raiders. In return, the Bills will receive a sixth-round pick.
Just days ago, Buffalo announced that Johnson was one of four players the team was releasing. However, none of them, according to the ESPN report, were listed on the league's transaction wire yet.
That meant that while they would be released by the start of the league year, there was still a chance for each player to be dealt. On Sunday, one was.
With the trade, Johnson will still account for $9.5 million on the Bills' salary cap as a dead cap hit. Whether they traded or released him, Johnson's departure only gives Buffalo $1.9 million in cap relief.
They could have designated him as a post-June 1 release or trade to spread out his remaining salary and clear $8.67 million in space this year. However, they wouldn't have been able to use the available money until after June 1, so they decided to eat the full cap hit this year.
Johnson ends his Bills career with 48 passes defended, six interceptions, and one All-Pro selection over eight seasons.
With the moves the Bills have made to start retooling the roster, as well as the void years from contracts kicking in, the team will enter the new year with roughly $46 million in dead cap. That's the seventh-highest dead cap number in the NFL.
The team also still has potential moves to make in order to clear salary space with players like Dawson Knox, Josh Allen, Dion Dawkins, and Joshua Palmer available for restructures.
The Bills have already restructured the contracts of Ed Oliver and Spencer Brown to clear space. They've also released Dane Jackson, Curtis Samuel, and Taylor Rapp.
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