Has Tremaine Edmunds done enough to merit a contract extension with Buffalo Bills later this year?

The Buffalo Bills face another Tremaine Edmunds conundrum.

Last year, General Manager Brandon Beane had to decide whether to pick up the fifth-year contract option on the middle linebacker’s rookie contract – which he ultimately did.

This year, Beane will have to decide whether Edmunds is worthy of a contract extension as he heads into that fifth and final year of his rookie deal.

It’s not an easy call.

For all the physical gifts Edmunds has been blessed with, there is still a lingering sense the 6-foot-5, 250-pounder hasn’t quite lived up to his first-round draft status. He led the Bills with 108 tackles in the regular season, but that’s to be expected of a middle linebacker. If we define big plays as sacks, interceptions, forced fumbles or recoveries, passes defensed and tackles for loss, Edmunds combined to make just 12 such plays. Seven players on the defense had that many or more. That’s a category that ideally Edmunds leads every year, and he didn’t come close. That’s something Beane will have to weigh when he considers a possible extension offer.

“I thought Tremaine did a really good job again,” the GM said at his end-of-season news conference. “His leadership, Tremaine is a quieter guy, probably if you compare him and Josh (Allen), they're both the quarterbacks of their side of the ball. Tremaine is naturally quieter, more lead by example. But when he speaks, guys do listen.

“I think, year by year, he's more comfortable being that guy, being that alpha, even though maybe it's not innately natural to him. Tremaine has done some really good things. I thought his physicality improved this year … getting off blocks, I thought all that improved. There's still things that he wants to get better at and we think going into next year, he's a young player still, but going into year five, we think he'll be even better.”

The problem is, similar statements have been made after each season of Edmunds’ career. While it’s true he’s turning just 24 in May, Edmunds has already made 61 starts in the regular season and another six in the postseason. It’s fair to wonder if there is another level of play still to come.

“I think each year, when you hold yourself to a certain standard, there’s always more. There’s always a lot more that you can do,” Edmunds said. “That’s personally how I feel about myself. Still a lot more I can learn from, still a lot I can do as far as getting better, as far as developing, as far as just everything in general. So, that’s what I’m going to take into this offseason, just continue to strive to get better. There are things that I know I can get better with, to be truthful to myself, be in direct communication with my coaches and just see areas of improvement.”

The day after the Bills’ season ended with a bitterly disappointing loss to the Chiefs in the divisional round of the playoffs, Edmunds said there had not been any conversations about a possible extension. It’s a good bet that hasn’t changed in the last month, given that Beane has more pressing decisions to make on his own impending unrestricted free agents, while also building the Bills’ draft board.

Eventually, though, the time will come to deal with Edmunds’ contract. He’s scheduled to make $12.716 million in 2022 on his option year. That ranks 12th among all linebackers in 2022 base salaries, according to contracts website spotrac.com, although several players ahead of Edmunds on that list are mostly pass rushers who are classified as outside linebackers. The Seahawks’ Bobby Wagner and the Jets’ C.J. Mosley are the only players ahead of Edmunds who would be classified as true linebackers rather than edge rushers.

The Bills also have to keep in mind their long-term salary structure. The huge money in terms of cap space taken up on Allen’s new deal kicks in during the 2023 season, and Beane has long cautioned there won’t be room to pay everyone. The Bills have already extended the contracts of cornerbacks Taron Johnson and Tre’Davious White, linebacker Matt Milano and safeties Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde. Beane also has to be mindful of the contract status of defensive tackle Ed Oliver, who has one year left on his rookie deal, pending the expected move of picking up his fifth-year option for the 2024 season.

If the Bills don’t extend Edmunds prior to the start of the 2022 season, he’ll play with the pressure of a contract season looming over him.

“I think the only expectation is the expectation we put on ourselves,” he said. “No matter what people may say, that work each year is going to be different. No matter what we did last year, no matter what we did this year, next year is going to be different as well. So we got to approach it that way. And just got to come out and stick together and take it a day at a time.”

To Edmunds’ credit, he hasn’t shied away from the criticism that has sometimes come given his draft position. As Beane pointed out, he has also seemed to grow more comfortable in a leadership role. That comes across in his comfort level when speaking to the media, but more importantly, it is reflected in his teammates’ comments about his command of the huddle.

“Obviously as a team, personal, you go through adversity, you go through battles, you go through things that’s hard,” Edmunds said. “That brings out true character in a man, to be able to look yourself in the mirror, to be to able to look at teammates in the face, and just be truthful with one another. We’re in that business, and hold each other accountable. I think that's what makes up a good football team, being able to trust the person beside you, knowing that he’s going to do his best, and you’re going to do your best, and being able just to be truthful.”