NEW DELHI: A person with firsthand knowledge of the situation said on Tuesday that the Buffalo Bills are removing running back Nyheim Hines in order to strategically reduce salary caps prior to the NFL’s free agency season.
Due to the confidential nature of the negotiations, the person spoke to The Associated Press under the condition of anonymity. ESPN.com first reported the decision on Sunday.
Although the Bills have indicated that they may re-sign Hines, there is no assurance that the player will come back when free agency begins on March 13.
Entering his final year on contract, Hines was out the whole previous season after suffering a knee injury in a jet ski accident shortly before training camp began last summer.
Even though he has resumed training, it is still unclear when he will be allowed to practise. The injury to the 27-year-old running back and his $5.1 million salary for the next campaign played a part in the Bills’ decision to cut him.
With this move, the Bills, who went into the offseason with the expectation of being an NFL-high $44 million over the cap in 2024, will have about $4.6 million in cap space available to them.
In a midseason trade with the Indianapolis Colts in 2022, Buffalo acquired Hines with the expectation that he would play a bigger role in 2023.
Hines did, however, participate in just nine games with little playing time. He was most useful on special teams, returning two kickoffs for touchdowns in a victory against the New England Patriots that ended the regular season.
Hines was first selected by the Colts in the fourth round of the 2018 NFL Draft. During his first four plus seasons in Indianapolis, Hines was recognised for his ability to catch passes out of the backfield.
