Report: Buffalo Bills releasing CB Tre'Davious White after seven seasons

There is huge news coming out of the NFL surrounding former LSU Tigers and current Buffalo Bills cornerback Tre’Davious White. On Wednesday, Buffalo announced that they will be parting ways with their all-pro defensive back, releasing him just ahead of the start of the 2024 off-season.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the move is one of several huge shake-ups for the Bills after falling short in the NFL playoffs last season. Buffalo made several cuts to get the franchise back under the cap after starting the day at nearly $40 million over the threshold.

“The Bills’ cuts of S Jordan Poyer, C Mitch Morse, CB Siran Neal, WR Deonte Harty, and RB Nyheim Hines will create approximately $25.96M in salary cap space. Buffalo entered the day $40M over the cap. The release of Tre’Davious White will open up another $10.2M,” said Shefter via X.

As the NFL insider explained in another tweet, Buffalo plans on designating White as a post-June 1 cut that will save the franchise $10.2 million in salary cap and $6.2 million in dead money. The Bills will still be responsible for his contract, as it will remain on their books until June 1. However, White is permitted to engage in talks and potentially sign with another NFL franchise.

More on the 2024 NFL offseason, free agency

The NFL 2024 calendar year begins at 4 p.m. ET on March 13. At that time, contracts running through 2023 officially run out, making those players free agents. Prior to the beginning of free agency, teams will have a chance to designate one franchise or transition tag player, starting on Feb. 20 at 4 p.m. ET and ending on March 5. Beginning March 11 through March 13 teams can enter into a legal negotiation with players who are set to become unrestricted free agents.

In addition to NFL free agency, the new year also marks the beginning of all trades being made official by the league office. April 19 marks the deadline to sign restricted free agents to offer sheets. On April 24, the deadline for teams to match restricted free agent offers sheets hits. Following the restricted free agent deadline follows the 2024 NFL Draft, which runs from April 25-27.

More on restricted, exclusive rights free agents

Players with only three years of accredited NFL experience become restricted free agents. Their original team will have the option to apply first-round, second-round, original-round, and right-of-fight-of-first-refusal tenders on players at escalating price tags. The higher the round, the more expensive the tender amount; however, if a separate team does offer a contract and the original team does not match that round pick will be conveyed from the new team to the original team. Right of first refusal only gives a team the option to match or not. If they don’t match, they get nothing in return. An original-round tender would send a draft pick from whatever round the player was drafted back to the original team if they chose not to match. The original team will have five days to match once a player signs an offer sheet from a new team.