The Buffalo Bills spent the first day of the NFL’s free agency negotiating period tending to their own roster as general manager Brandon Beane made a series of moves to free up salary cap space, and then used that money to re-sign three of his own free agents.

Tuesday, they were curiously quiet as the only reported move they made was to agree to terms on a one-year contract with linebacker Nicholas Morrow, formerly of the Eagles, Bears and Raiders.

As Wednesday gets underway, the Bills still have time to come to agreements with players, but once the clock ticks to 4 p.m., the start of the official league year begins, they will have to be below whatever their adjusted salary cap figure is going to be. For a baseline, the NFL-mandated ceiling is $255.4 million.

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Beane could still do contract extensions with players such as Taron Johnson and Matt Milano to create more space, and he could cut punter Sam Martin (which would open up $1.2 million) now that Matt Haack is already signed.

Bookmark this page because I’ll be updating it constantly Tuesday and Wednesday as the Bills begin constructing their 2024 roster.

WR Curtis Samuel to sign three-year contract with Bills

Buffalo has added its biggest outside free agent, giving wide receiver Curtis Samuel a three-year, $24 million deal, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. The contract could be worth as much as $30 million and has $15 million guaranteed.

Samuel, who will turn 28 in the preseason, has explosive speed for yards after the catch and can play out wide or in the slot. He was second on the Washington Commanders in receptions (62) and receiving yards (613).

Samuel has 317 receptions for 3,383 yards and 22 touchdowns over seven seasons with the Carolina Panthers and Commanders. He's also a threat out of the backfield, with 715 yards and seven touchdowns on 121 career carries.

Samuel has ties to the Bills front office and coaching staff. He was drafted in the second round of the 2016 draft by the Carolina Panthers, where Brandon Beane was an assistant general manager. Samuel also played under current Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady in Carolina in 2000. Samuel posted career highs with 77 catches and 851 receiving yards with Brady calling the plays.

The Bills say goodbye to Tre’Davious White

Once the league year began at 4 p.m. Wednesday, the Bills officially released cornerback Tre’Davious White, ending a very nice seven-year tenure in Buffalo.

White was the first draft pick of the Sean McDermott coaching era, No. 27 overall in the first round of the 2017 draft. Of course, that was the pick the Bills obtained in a trade from the Chiefs, who moved up to Buffalo’s No. 10 position and picked quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

For a few years, White was one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL, earning All-Pro honors in 2019 and two Pro Bowl invitations, and he made 18 interceptions in 82 games, all starts.

However, his last two-plus years with the Bills were marred by major injuries - a torn Achilles’ tendon in 2023, and a torn knee in 2021 - which forced him to miss 28 games from Thanksgiving 2021 through the end of last season.

Because of those injuries, it was no longer feasible for the Bills to carry White’s exorbitant salary cap, and that led to his release. They will save approximately $10 million on the cap, but that saving won’t hit the books until after June 1, meaning his money can’t be used until then to sign new players.

Siran Neal joining Jordan Poyer with the Dolphins

The Bills made the right call on releasing Neal who is primarily a special teams player because that freed up almost $3 million in cap space.

Neal is reportedly set to sign with AFC East rival Miami, reuniting him with Poyer who agreed to terms with the Dolphins Tuesday.

No details on Neal’s contract, but Poyer’s deal is reportedly for a mere $2 million. Had the Bills kept him, he was scheduled to make more than $5 million in 2024. What this clearly shows is that Poyer did not have a market, the Bills made the right call in moving on, and the main reason Poyer is signing with the Dolphins is because that’s where he lives in the offseason and he desperately wanted to play there, thus he was willing to take such a small contract.

Dane Jackson gets sizeable offer from Panthers

The Bills probably weren’t expecting to get the cornerback to return because a player with 28 career NFL starts for a perennial playoff participant was going to get offers, and Jackson sure did.

He is signing a two-year deal with the Panthers that could be worth up to $14.5 million, though realistically it will come in well under that. Still, that’s quite a bump for Jackson, a seventh-round Bills draft pick in 2020 who has made a nice career for himself.

Remember, new Panthers GM Dan Morgan was in the Bills’ front office as Beane’s assistant when Buffalo picked Jackson out of Pittsburgh.

Bills agree to sign WR Mack Hollins

Wednesday morning, the team addressed its depth at wide receiver by agreeing to terms with Mack Hollins on what is likely a one-year deal.

The 30-year-old is probably the replacement for Trent Sherfield as the No. 5 man on depth chart. Sherfield is a free agent and his return now seems unlikely. One thing Hollins will certainly add his size as he’s 6-foot-4 and weighs 221 pounds.

Hollins’ best season came in 2022 when he caught 57 passes for 690 yards and four TDs for the Raiders. Last year, his only one with the Falcons, he caught only 18 for 251 yards and for his career he has averaged just 17.8 yards receiving per game, covering 22 starts in 97 games.

Originally he was a fourth-round draft pick of the Eagles in 2017 and has also played for the Dolphins.

Former Bills safety Jordan Poyer signs with Dolphins

Jordan Poyer is staying in the AFC East. The safety, who was released by the Bills last week, inked a one-year deal with the division rival Miami Dolphins, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Poyer, who turns 33 next month, is entering his 12th season and will be paired with safety Jevon Holland in the Dolphins' secondary. Poyer expressed interest in joining the Dolphins last offseason before he signed a two-year contract with the Bills.

"It would be crazy to stay in the (AFC) East and come down here to South Florida," Poyer said on his podcast in February 2023. He talked about his relationship with Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, the allure of playing in a state with no income tax, and the warm weather.

Poyer played seven seasons with the Bills, making first-team All-Pro in 2021 and the Pro Bowl in 2022. His 683 tackles are fifth-most in team history.

Buffalo saved $5.7 million by cutting Poyer before free agency and then re-signed safety Taylor Rapp to a three-year, $10.6 million contract.

Bills finally a sign free agent: Linebacker Nicholas Morrow headed to Buffalo

NFL Network reported that the Bills have agreed to terms on a one-year contract with linebacker Nicholas Morrow, a 28-year-old veteran of six NFL seasons with the Raiders, Bears and Eagles.

Morrow has started 58 of his 94 career games and has three interceptions, seven sacks, three forced fumbles, three recoveries and 465 tackles.

The 6-foot-, 216-pounder has played 4,339 snaps on defense and another 989 on special teams. He is regarded as a pretty good run defender and an average at best pass defender, though one of his strengths is his speed on blitzes.

A.J. Epenesa contract details are out

Sports contract website Spotrac.com had this one pretty close as they projected a two-year, $11 million contract for Epenesa on the open market. The Bills got the edge rusher back for two years at $12 million.

There is reportedly $10.6 in guaranteed money and he could earn another $4 million through incentives tied to snap counts and sacks. It's a solid contract for the 25-year-old former 2020 second-round draft pick.

Following the playoff loss to the Chiefs, Epenesa was asked about what he thought the future would hold and he said, when asked about returning to Buffalo, “I sure hope so. I think this year I definitely played some of my best ball and I think my best ball is still ahead of me. So I’m playing with a lot of confidence, playing fast and next season I know I’ll just keep it going.

“I’m open to whatever; I’m going into free agency with an open mind and I’m ready to learn and educate myself. Obviously, it’s my first time. Buffalo will always have a special place in my heart, they drafted me here when multiple teams passed on me multiple times. So they believed in me, I love it here. I love the fans. So if I have the opportunity, I would love to. But we’ll just have to see where everything goes.”

DaQuan Jones re-signs with Bills on two-year contract

Buffalo took care of another one of its own, locking up defensive tackle DaQuan Jones on a two-year, $16.5 million contract. Jones will get $10.5 million guaranteed.

The Bills spent Day 1 of free agency methodically restructuring contracts and re-signing their free agents once after freeing up cap space. Brandon Beane burned the midnight oil by retaining another player in a move announced by Jones and his agency about 1 a.m. Tuesday.

"WE BACK!!!!!," Jones tweeted.

Buffalo basically re-upped with Jones, 32, who just came off a two-year, $14 million contract with the team.

Jones had 38 tackles and two sacks in his first year in Buffalo in 2022. He continued to play at high level last year next to Ed Oliver on the line, making 10 tackles with 2.5 sacks in the first four weeks, before before suffering a torn pectoral muscle and missing 10 games. He returned for the final two weeks of the regular season and two playoff games.

Jones has 327 tackles, 14.5 sacks, 3 forced fumbles and 3 fumble recoveries in 10 NFL seasons.

Josh Allen's contract restructured to put Bills under the salary cap

The Bills made the most significant cap move of them all by restructuring the contract of quarterback Josh Allen which freed up more than $16 million and got them under the league-mandated $255.4 million ceiling, though their own figure may be slightly altered once each team's cap number is established based on carryover money from 2023.

A.J. Epenesa returning to the Bills

One of the players who some thought had priced himself out of Buffalo, edge rusher A.J. Epenesa, has agreed to return to the franchise that made him a second-round draft pick in 2020.

Epenesa took a couple years to get settled into the defense has posted back-to-back seasons of 6.5 sacks, raising his career total to 15.5.

His return gives the Bills four edge rushers as he rejoins Von Miller, Greg Rousseau and Kingsley Jonathan.

Dion Dawkins couldn’t resist teasing Bills Mafia

Just minutes before his contract extension was announced, the playful Dawkins sent out a cryptic message via social media that made it look like he was done in Buffalo. Although it was never a reality that the Bills would move on from him, there were certainly some reporters and fans who momentarily believed something crazy was about to happen.

“I don’t really see it as a prank,” Dawkins said with a smile on his face via Zoom. “I’m an entertainer, I’m going to entertain, so I was missing the Bills Mafia and had to figure out which way I could get a little back and forth. I just woke up trolling.”

Turning sentimental, he reiterated the long known belief that Buffalo is the only place he wants to be.

“When you start a new chapter in your life, you’re born again,” he said. “I feel like when I got drafted by the Buffalo Bills … it was like I was born and I was a baby. Buffalo was my mother and my father, so who the heck wants to walk away from mom and dad? Because I don't, and that's how and I see it, like Buffalo embraced me.”

Cam Lewis staying with Bills for a nice pay raise

The former University at Buffalo standout said on locker cleanout day that he’s been in Buffalo so long, between college and his four seasons with the Bills, that he definitely wanted to come back.

And sure enough, the Bills felt the same way. He is reportedly signing a two-year, $4 million contract.

“Free agency this year so we’ll see what happens,” Lewis said in late January. “You never know in this business but I felt like I had a good year so I feel like I should be somewhere. Hopefully it's back here but you never know with this business so yeah, just chill out workout, and then get back to the grind.”

The Bills have a clear need at safety, and now Lewis rejoins Taylor Rapp and Damlin Hamlin, but the Bills are far from done at the position. In fact, Lewis is a longshot to win a starting job; he’ll likely continue his role as a depth option at safety and cornerback, and remain a core member of the special teams, especially now that another core special teamer, Siran Neal, is gone.

Jacksonville becoming Buffalo South

A couple days after center Mitch Morse signed with the Jaguars, he will be joined by former Bills wide receiver Gabe Davis.

Davis is reportedly signing a three-year contract and he will be reunited with former Bills wide receiver coach Chad Hall who, quite obviously, had major input into this decision for head coach Doug Pedersen.

Dianna Russini of The Athletic reported the numbers at $39 million with the potential to make $50 million if he hits certain incentives. And yes, that was definitely more than the Bills were willing to pay.

Dion Dawkins signs big contract extension

The Bills officially announced that they are extending the three-time Pro Bowl left tackle’s contract. Adam Schefter of ESPN reported the numbers at three years for $60.5 million which would make him the fourth-highest paid tackle in the NFL.

There are no details on what this means for the 2024 cap, but obviously, there must be some savings as he was scheduled to count $16.7 million.

Dawkins was scheduled to have the third-highest cap figure on the team behind only Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs, but he was also a player who had earned that place in Buffalo’s financial structure and Beane extending him was the right call as he’s still only going to be 30 years old when the season starts.

Dawkins was one of the first draft picks of the Sean McDermott era which began in 2017 when he was selected in the second round. He has been a starter almost from the moment he arrived and during his seven years with the Bills he started 106 of the 112 games, while also being a pillar in the locker room, and the community.

Bills restructure Dawson Knox contract

On Monday morning, Buffalo opened an as yet undetermined amount of cap space by reworking the contract for tight end Dawson Knox.

Buffalo Bills have 22 free agents in 2024: Who they should re-sign and who to let walk

When the offseason began, the Buffalo Bills were staring at a list of 22 free agents who would be eligible to hit the open market. Prior to the opening of the NFL’s free agent negotiating window opens Monday, the Bills retained three of those players as they re-signed offensive lineman David Edwards, safety Taylor Rapp and tight end Quintin Morris to new contracts, moves that were possible after a big Wednesday when they created tens of millions of salary cap space with the release of several veterans, and contract restructures on a few others.

Here's who Sal Maiorana thinks they should try to retain, and who should be allowed to leave.

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Sal Maiorana can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @salmaiorana. To subscribe to Sal's newsletter, Bills Blast, which comes out each Friday during the offseason, please follow this link: https://profile.democratandchronicle.com/newsletters/bills-blast

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Bills free agent tracker 2024: Live updates on signings, contracts