Bills continue to free up cap space by releasing guard Jon Feliciano

Feliciano, 30, was scheduled to count $4.967 million against the 2022 cap – 14th highest on the team. That proved to be too much after he became a backup by the end of the 2021 season, with Ryan Bates and Daryl Williams serving as the starting guards in the two playoff games.

Feliciano will count $1.5 million in “dead money” against the cap, with the team saving $3.467 million by his release. According to a league source, he was not asked to take a pay cut or otherwise restructure his contract.

It’s been great Buff ✌🏽

— Jonathan Feliciano (@MongoFeliciano) March 9, 2022

Love y’all to #billsmafia a more formal goodbye is otw

— Jonathan Feliciano (@MongoFeliciano) March 9, 2022

Feliciano signed a three-year contract extension worth up to $14.4 million in March 2021, but ultimately made it through just one year of that deal. He had a season to forget in 2021, missing the Week 4 win against Houston because of a concussion and then going on injured reserved because of a calf injury. That kept him out for five games. After returning in a reserve role against Tampa Bay in Week 14, Feliciano tested positive for Covid-19 and missed the next two games. The bout with Covid-19 sent Feliciano to the hospital for treatment.

By the time he returned to the active roster ahead of the Week 17 game against Atlanta, Bates and Williams were established as the starting guards.

Feliciano’s activity on social media seemed to indicate he had an idea his release may be coming. He tweeted the following Wednesday: “personality hardiness: the capacity to survive and even thrive under difficult conditions aka Jonathan Feliciano.”

Feliciano started 31 of 34 games during his three years with the Bills, playing all three interior offensive line positions. It wouldn’t be a big surprise to see him potentially reunite with former Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, who is now the New York Giants’ head coach.