Buffalo Bills 2026 Free Agency: Cam Lewis to Chicago, DJ Moore In, Kyle Allen Back — Bills Aggressively Reshape Roster Before Wednesday's 4 PM Deadline

The Buffalo Bills are moving fast. The new league year opens officially at 4:00 PM ET Wednesday — and Buffalo already has its headline moves locked in. Cam Lewis is gone to Chicago. DJ Moore is in from Chicago. Kyle Allen returns as Josh Allen's backup. Dawson Knox gets an extension. General manager Brandon Beane is executing what he promised: precision over spending, impact over volume.

Cam Lewis Ends Six-Year Bills Run — Signs Two-Year Deal With Chicago Bears

Defensive back Cam Lewis is joining the Bears on a two-year deal, per ESPN's Jeremy Fowler. Lewis, who turns 29 next month, played his college ball at Buffalo and signed with the Bills as an undrafted free agent in 2019. He played six seasons with Buffalo.

Lewis played 76 games with 14 starts with the Bills, totaling 166 tackles, an interception, three forced fumbles, and 11 passes defensed across 1,346 defensive snaps and 1,043 special teams snaps. He was a core special teams piece and depth defensive back — the kind of player who keeps a locker room's competitive floor elevated without commanding top dollar. Spotrac projected his market value at just $1.5 million, making the Bears deal almost certainly a two-year contract worth more than he would have received staying in Buffalo.

His departure closes out one of the more unlikely long-term stories in recent Bills history — an undrafted kid from UB who stuck, contributed, and lasted long enough to earn a starting secondary job in Chicago.

DJ Moore Trade: Bills Land the Bears' No. 1 Wide Receiver

The Lewis departure is the smaller half of the Buffalo-Chicago exchange. The Bills finalized a trade with the Chicago Bears for wide receiver DJ Moore — one of the top receivers available in any form this offseason.

Both Moore's contract and center Connor McGovern's re-signing — a four-year, $52 million deal — must fit under the $301.3 million salary cap by Wednesday's deadline. Beane restructured Spencer Brown's and Ed Oliver's contracts to create room, cut Taylor Rapp, Dane Jackson, and Curtis Samuel, and traded nickel cornerback Taron Johnson to the Las Vegas Raiders for draft compensation. The math is tight. The roster is better.

Kyle Allen Returns, Trubisky Leaves, Dawson Knox Extended

QB Kyle Allen is returning to the Bills on a two-year free-agent deal. Mitch Trubisky, who served as Josh Allen's backup, departed for Tennessee. The transition is seamless on paper — Allen reunites with a franchise he knows, in a system built around protecting one of the NFL's elite quarterbacks.

Tight end Dawson Knox agreed to a contract extension to remain in Buffalo. Knox has been a steady presence in the red zone and a security blanket for Josh Allen since 2019 — keeping him was a priority that Beane handled quietly before the market opened.

Dee Alford In, Taron Johnson Out — The Secondary Reshuffled

Corner Dee Alford signed with the Bills from the Atlanta Falcons on a three-year, $21 million deal with $10 million guaranteed. He replaces Johnson — a reliable nickel corner for years — who was sent to Las Vegas in the draft pick swap.

Safety Sam Franklin Jr. re-signed on a three-year deal, keeping the special teams captain in the building. The secondary remains a work in progress with multiple veterans from the 2025 group — Jordan Poyer, Tre'Davious White, Darnell Savage — all departed or departing.

What Buffalo Still Needs — Linebacker, Edge, and the Trey Hendrickson Question

The Bills are in the market for linebacker help and edge rushers who fit defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard's 3-4 scheme. Buffalo has inquired about free-agent defensive end Trey Hendrickson — the same unsigned pass rusher drawing interest from Dallas and Indianapolis — though no deal is imminent.

Among the Bills' remaining unrestricted free agents still seeking contracts: defensive ends Joey Bosa and A.J. Epenesa, linebacker Matt Milano, and defensive tackles Larry Ogunjobi and Jordan Phillips. The linebacker corps is the thinnest it has been in years. Beane's next move — draft or free agency — needs to address it directly.