Star

Lotulelei

If the transaction is a post-June 1 move, Buffalo will adsorb a $5.1 million dead cap hit. Releasing Lotulelei would create around $4 million in 2022 cap space for the Bills. Lotulelei won’t have a chance to play alongside newly-signed Von Miller. Pro Football Focus graded Buffalo’s defense as the fourth worst run-defending unit in 2021.

Spencer Brown, a catalyst on Buffalo’s o-line this year, was also activated from the COVID list. With two star players presumably back for the team’s divisional showdown against New England, Buffalo is getting healthy (sans All-Pro CB Tre’Davious White’s absence) at the right time. The Bills square off against New England in two of their next four games.

Buffalo also lost defensive tackle Justin Zimmer to a torn ACL earlier this week. With multiple absences at the position, they elevated Brandin Bryant from the practice squad for their Week 10 game against the Jets. Lotulelei has a pair of sacks and three TFLs this year.

Bills head coach Sean McDermott on Friday confirmed Lotulelei would miss the team’s opener against Pittsburgh. Lotulelei was set to return to the field after opting out of the 2020 season due to the coronavirus pandemic. While it’s hard to say how much the run stuffer would have played against the Steelers -- or whether he would be effective -- his absence is a plus for Najee Harris, who is expected to operate as an every-down back.

Releasing Lotulelei would not be cap effective, so Lotulelei should be back. The 31-year-old’s return will help shore up a run defense that was shaky in 2020. Lotulelei has never lived up to the promise of his first two years in the league with the Panthers, but he is a load for enemy interior linemen.

30-year-old Lotulelei was due $4.5 million guaranteed this season. That will now toll to 2021, with $150,000 of it being paid now as a “stipend.” One of the league’s better-known run stuffers, Lotulelei is not an impact player, but it forces the Bills to immediately dip into their depth in a season where they are beginning to look like AFC East favorites. Harrison Phillips and Vernon Butler are the next men up.

Per ESPN’s Field Yates, Lotulelei’s $6.25 million salary has been cut to $4.5 million but is now fully guaranteed. The Bills have also added $2.5 million in injury guarantees to Lotulelei’s 2021 salary. Lotulelei has been something of a free agent disappointment in Buffalo, turning in replacement-level production against the run while playing roughly half the snaps. He is now on the wrong side of 30.

There are a lot of “ifs” here, but it’d be a trade rebuilding Oakland would love to do, and address a massive weakness in Detroit. It’s logical. If the Chiefs draft Luke Joeckel and the Jaguars take Dion Jordan, the Lions would then trade up with the Raiders to select Eric Fisher. The Raiders would move down, perhaps add a third-rounder, and take their highest-rated player left at No. 5. Per Pauline, that would be either Sharrif Floyd or Star Lotulelei.

Bandied about as a potential top-five pick before the draft, Lotulelei tumbled to the Panthers at No. 14, where he fills a massive need. A poor-man’s Haloti Ngata, Lotulelei is going to stuff running lanes, but may not rush the quarterback like Ngata has. The Panthers will count on Lotulelei and his 6-foot-2, 311-pound frame to occupy multiple blockers. An absolute workhorse in college — he played nearly every defensive snap as a senior — Lotulelei has the potential to make an impact from day one on an underrated young front seven.

One of the reasons Lotulelei fell to 14th overall in the draft was because he earned a strict run defender label. The Panthers are teaching him to use his hands to shed blockers and are happy with the progress so far. They already know that Lotulelei is going to be an asset when asked to plug up running lanes.