Since their most recent playoff heartbreak, the Buffalo Bills’ brain trust led by coach Sean McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane has formulated a plan on how they can construct the 2024 roster, one that could perhaps finally overtake their perennial nemesis, the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.

“I did watch the Super Bowl,” McDermott said at the NFL Scouting Combine. “As hard as it is to watch it, I think it is a necessary evil because you can learn from it. Listen, as much as we want to be there, I want to be there, our fans want us to be there, you have to respect what they've been able to accomplish and how they've been able to do it.

“You go back and you take an objective approach to everything, and you turn over every stone to make sure that we're doing things right, we're putting ourselves in the best position, coaching wise, personnel wise, training wise, weightlifting wise, whatever it is to win the world championship. That's what we're here for.”

Sign up for the Bills Blast newsletter Delivered straight to your inbox, additional Bills analysis, insight, stats, quotes and team history from Sal Maiorana

The past month-plus was spent evaluating the players they know are returning and how they fit for 2024. Then, as Beane and the financial staff figured out ways to get the Bills salary cap compliant through trades, player releases and contract altering, a process that resulted in a downright stunning Wednesday.

“You have to know your own roster, that’s important, right?” McDermott said. “You’ve got to know that in order for you to make the necessary adjustments moving forward or acquiring certain players because it fits together like a puzzle. We’ve said that before, and knowing your own roster also affects re-signing some of our own free agents if that’s possible, as well. So whatever value you put on those players has got to be the right value. That’s just as important as anything.”

What that revealed to McDermott and Beane was this: It was time to turn the page on several veterans who have been integral to the Bills' winning four consecutive AFC East division titles. The big moves were the release of cornerback Tre'Davious White, safety Jordan Poyer, and center Mitch Morse. They also moved on from wide receiver Deonte Harty, and special teams player Siran Neal.

Fans barely had time to take a breath after those rapid-fire announcements began showing up on X when the next wave of moves were made with attention focused on which of their own free agents to re-sign. They had already re-signed offensive lineman David Edwards, apparently with the intent of making him the starting left guard and moving Connor McGovern to center to replace Morse. Next came the news that they were brining back Taylor Rapp to fill one of the vacant safety spots.

And there were two other moves that felt like they were re-signing their own. They filled their vacant backup quarterback job by reuniting with Mitchell Trubisky, who served in that role in 2021. Trubisky had been with the Steelers since then, and he was available to sign before the start of free agency because he was released by Pittsburgh in mid-February so he no longer had an active contract. In another dip into the past, they signed punter Matt Haack which seems to indicate they will move on from Sam Martin and use his $1.3 million in cap savings on Martin's deal.

Lastly, the Bills made two key contract alterations. They convinced edge rusher Von Miller to, in essence, accept a pay cut and he agreed, a move that saves more than $8.6 million on the cap, though Miller can recoup some of his money through incentives. And they also restructured the last season on cornerback Rasul Douglas' contract and saved another $2.5 million.

There may be more moves to come this week, particularly in the area of trying to re-sign their own free agents, but the time has also come to look beyond their locker room and hone in on outside free agents they believe would fit their structure, both on the field and within the financial constraints they face due to their still tight salary cap situation.

Similar to trying to figure out who the Bills might draft each year, trying to project which free agents they might sign is every bit the guessing game. But here are five I believe could be logical fits to fill their most obvious positional needs:

Josh Uche, Patriots edge rusher

The Bills can’t dip into the top end of the edge rusher market, but Uche would be an intriguing and potentially affordable option. The 26-year-old Patriots’ 2020 second-round pick is 6-foot-3 and 240 pounds, and he’s a bit of a hybrid edge rusher/outside linebacker which could present some interesting usage options for defensive coordinator Bobby Babich.

Uche seemed to be a rising star in 2022 when he had 11.5 sacks and 56 pressures playing opposite Matthew Judon, but last year was a step back. Judon got hurt and Uche did not step up as he had only three sacks, though he was second on the Patriots with 37 pressures. He was usually only used in pass rush situations and wasn’t much of a run defender, but in McDermott’s heavy rotation defensive line, he could carve out a meaningful role.

Spotrac estimates his value at $16 million over two years, and that’s likely based on his youth and the fact that he did have that big 2022 season.

D.J. Wonnum, Vikings edge rusher

He was overshadowed in Minnesota by fellow edge rusher Danielle Hunter, but Wonnum actually graded out much better as a run defender than his teammate who could hit it big in free agency. As a pass rusher, Wonnum was second behind Hunter in both sacks (eight) and pressures (38) so there is some upside there.

The 26-year-old was a fourth-round pick in 2020 out of South Carolina and during his four seasons with the Vikings he accumulated 23 sacks, 135 pressures and nine batted down passes on 1,669 pass rush snaps. By comparison, A.J. Epenesa, Buffalo’s second-round pick in 2020, played 852 pass rush snaps and had 15.5 sacks, 93 pressures and 12 batted down passes.

Spotrac has valued Epenesa at $11.2 million over two years and it hasn’t put a price on Wonnum yet, but one projection I saw was $13 million for two seasons. Their physical profile is very similar, both right around 6-foot-5 and 260 pounds, but Wonnum has a better pass rush arsenal and PFF graded him much better as a run defender.

Jordan Whitehead, Jets safety

Now that the Bills have released Poyer in a move that freed up $5.7 million of salary cap space, and they re-signed Rapp, safety may be an area they look to address in the draft. But getting another veteran isn't a bad idea. The Bills are also moving on from Micah Hyde, they have no depth at the position and a rookie may not be ready to play right away.

Whitehead would fill one of those spots, and you know Josh Allen would be in favor of this because it would mean for at least the next few years the only passes of his that Whitehead could intercept would be in practice.

After joining the Jets as a free agent from Tampa Bay in 2022, Whitehead made six interceptions for Gang Green and four of them came off Allen including three in the 2023 season opener. The 5–foot-10, 198-pounder is a rangy player with 11 career picks, two fumble recoveries and 478 tackles in his first six NFL seasons, and he’s only entering his age 27 season so there’s plenty more in there.

Among the 25 safeties who played at least 600 coverage snaps last year, his snaps per completion allowed of 29.1 was fifth best. Spotrac hasn’t figured out his projection but there are some that peg him as a $15 million player spread over three years and that seems doable for the Bills.

Follow this: Bills free agent tracker: Live updates on signings, contracts

Teair Tart, Texans defensive tackle

The 304-pounder was signed by Tennessee as an undrafted free agent in 2020 and he became a starter in 2021, ultimately starting 36 of the 47 games he played for the Titans. But after a solid 2022 season, he was bothered by the fact that the team and his agent couldn’t come to an agreement on an extension so he played on a second round restricted free agent tender at $4.3 million.

That angst carried into the season and it affected his play which slipped from his previous level. Late in the year he asked for his release and the Titans accommodated him. The Texans pounced on the opportunity to sign him to help in their push to the AFC South title. Tart played in the final two regular-season games but was inactive for Houston’s two postseason games.

If the Bills can’t re-sign DaQuan Jones, Tart is a strong run defender who could play the one-technique position next to Ed Oliver, but given his past dissatisfaction with his contract, he may seek more than the Bills would be willing to pay.

Curtis Samuel, Commanders wide receiver

Beane was still the assistant GM in Carolina when the Panthers took Samuel in the second round of the 2017 draft out of Ohio State. After catching 185 passes for 2,087 yards and 14 TDs in four years, he signed a three-year, $34 million contract with the Commanders. In three years there, he caught 132 passes for 1,296 yards and eight TDs.

Samuel is 5-foot-11 and 195 pounds and he’ll only be 28 when the season starts. He might be a nice complement to Stefon Diggs and Khalil Shakir, especially if the Bills do what they should and take a receiver early in the draft. The rookie could watch and learn from the two vets, Diggs and Samuel.

If the Bills can get him on a two-year deal for something like $9 million, he might be worth a look.

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 agency. 5 free agents Buffalo should sign