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 when NFL’s free agent negotiating window opens on Monday. As of Wednesday, that number has been trimmed to 20, and it could continue to shrink in the days to come.

The Bills have already re-signed offensive lineman David Edwards and safety Taylor Rapp 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.

Trading Ryan Bates cut into the Bills’ interior line depth, so bringing back Edwards made sense, especially when it was reported that he's going to move into the left guard spot and Connor McGovern is going to move to center after the release of Mitch Morse.

Edwards hardly played at all in the traditional guard spot last year, but he was used for more than 130 snaps as a blocking tight end. He got a nice increase from his one-year, $1.7 million contract in 2023 as his new deal is reportedly two years for $6 million. With Bates gone, Alec Anderson might become the primary backup on the interior, and that will be important because it’s unlikely the Bills’ line will have the same incredibly good luck regarding injuries it had in 2023.

I thought Rapp would have a bigger impact last year, but he didn’t stand out when he got his opportunities. Still, with a clear need to replace departing Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer, Rapp has a year in the system and he may flourish in a full-time role, so this was a good move to bring him back. Spotrac’s value was two years for $11 million, but Rapp didn't get that as he settled for a three-year deal for a reported $10.6 million with $3.6 million guaranteed at signing.

If general manager Brandon Beane had his way, he would love to bring almost every one of them back to the team and built on that continuity to further Buffalo’s pursuit of an elusive Super Bowl victory, but that’s simply not possible.

In fact, the reality is that the vast majority of those 20 players are going to become ex-Bills in the days, weeks and months to come.

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“You never want to move on from good players. You don’t,” Beane said when he met with reporters at the NFL Scouting Combine. “We love to draft, develop and sign (to a second contract). I think those guys have all developed well and earned the opportunity to go to free agency.

“We’ll have conversations like we will with all the free agents. There’s not a free agent that I can think of that I’m going, ‘Man, I don’t want that guy back.’ So we’ll have lots of conversations and we’ll see where it goes.”

I can think of a few he shouldn’t want back, but also a few that he should pursue. In that vein, if I was running the operation at One Bills Drive, this is what I would try to accomplish with the Bills’ impending free agent group:

Players the Bills should try to retain

● QB Kyle Allen: My thought here was someone has to back up the indestructible (big knock on wood) Josh Allen and it might as well be one of his good friends who is already in tune with the system. Well, the Bills did sign one of Allen's buddies, but it wasn't Kyle Allen, it was Mitchell Trubisky who was his backup in 2021. This probably means Kyle won't be back, and the third QB in the room will likely be Shane Buechele.

● RB Ty Johnson: He was a nice addition to the team after Damien Harris went down, and by the end of the year he was the primary backup to James Cook. Johnson’s skill set is versatile and it’s worth bringing him back with a slight pay raise from the $1 million he earned last season.

● TE Quintin Morris: The Bills are set with Dalton Kincaid and Dawson Knox, but they have invested a few years in developing Morris and he’s a great fit as a No. 3 tight end. He’s the only exclusive rights free agent on the list, so if the Bills tender him an offer at around $1 million, he either takes it or he doesn’t play. If they don’t tender, then he becomes an unrestricted free agent. They should make the offer.

● DL DaQuan Jones: When he played last season, he was a stud in the middle of the line. He’s 32 so age is an issue, but the Bills have no one besides Ed Oliver right now at DT. Sports contract site spotrac.com estimates Jones could get a one-year deal around $6.8 million which would actually be less than the $7 million he made last year. Unless his intention is to get younger, Beane should jump at that.

● DL A.J. Epenesa: There’s a good chance he has priced himself out of Buffalo, but if Spotrac’s market value is close - two years at $5.6 million annually - that might be palatable for the Bills who, just like DT, are painfully thin on the edge with just Greg Rousseau, Von Miller and Kingsley Jonathan under contract.

● CB Dane Jackson: I can’t imagine his market will be robust, though he does have 28 career starts so maybe I’m wrong. Spotrac estimates his value at one year for $3.1 million. Even with the release of Tre’Davious White, the Bills are still in good shape with Rasul Douglas, Christian Benford and Kaiir Elam, but Jackson would add reliable depth as a fourth corner.

● CB Cam Lewis: Nothing Lewis does will wow you, but it’s nice to have a versatile defensive back who can play a number of roles including special teams. He may be frustrated by his lack of playing time and will want to see what he can get, but if his market is soft, spending say $1.5 million for a year isn’t a bad idea.

Players the Bills should let walk away

● RB Latavius Murray: Enough with signing 34-year-old running backs.

● RB Damien Harris: It was unfortunate that he suffered a season-ending neck injury in Week 6. Ty Johnson does everything Harris can do, probably at a lesser price.

● WR Gabe Davis: You never say never, but I think it’s highly unlikely that Davis returns. Yes, the Bills constantly say how much they love his work ethic and what he means in the locker room, but not at Spotrac’s estimated four-year, $54 million market value. No way. And really, he probably needs a change of scenery.

● WR Trent Sherfield: It wasn’t his fault that he had so few opportunities (392 snaps), and he’s a decent option as a No. 5 blocking type receiver, but they can find this player elsewhere.

● DL Leonard Floyd: He was a bargain at $7 million last year as he racked up 10.5 sacks, but he declined in the second half and with an $8.1 estimated one-year market value, that’s probably too high for a player turning 32 this season.

● DL Jordan Phillips: I don’t know why they re-signed him last season, so the time is nigh to move on. He has actually hinted at retirement, so we’ll see if he goes through with that.

● DL Poona Ford: It was puzzling why the Bills healthy scratched him for half the season after paying him $2.25 million. I doubt he wants to come back.

● DL Shaq Lawson: Like Phillips, he keeps hanging around, but this might be it for the soon-to-be 30-year-old in Buffalo.

● DL Tim Settle: He proved to be a poor signing in 2022 for $9 million across two years. He’s still only going to be 27 this year, but the production just hasn’t been there. Spotrac has him estimated at two years for $7.5 million and that’s a little pricey.

● DL Linval Joseph: He was a Hail Mary in the middle of the season when the Bills were really missing DaQuan Jones, but he gave them very little. He’s probably headed to retirement.

● LB Tyrel Dodson: This will be a tough call because Dodson played pretty well once he took over full-time for injured Matt Milano. He would return to a backup role with Milano expected back, so he likely wants to find a new spot where he can compete for a starting job. Spotrac has him in the three-year, $14.6 million range.

● LB Tyler Matakevich: A lifetime special teams player, but he’s 31 and he made $2.5 million last year. That’s way too much now, so if he’s willing to take a big pay cut, it wouldn’t hurt to re-sign him, but again, youth should be the path.

● S Micah Hyde: Even at 33 Hyde played well last year and the Bills will miss him. Last year I thought there was no way they’d re-sign Jordan Poyer but they did, but I doubt history repeats itself with Hyde who I think is leaning toward retirement.

“We’ve got a lot of free agents,” Beane said in what certainly qualifies as an understatement. “We’ll obviously look and see the ones we can get back and how much space we’re able to create in the next couple of weeks and see what we can do. We’d love to keep as many as we can, we love those guys and think they can help us. But also understand that they’re this close to free agency, they’re going to want to see what they can get.”

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 2024 free agents: List of who they should sign and let walk