Bills' Tremaine Edmunds Trying to Ignore the Contract Distractions

He enters the final year of his rookie deal with a vow to not let the question of his long-term viability in Buffalo affect his play.

Tremaine Edmunds has been facing questions about his long-term viability in Buffalo ever since he was eligible for a contract extension following the 2020 season. As of Tuesday, the Bills' linebacker still doesn't have an answer, except to say that he is focused only on what he can control.

The former first-round draft pick is entering the option year of his rookie deal, which calls for an expensive cap hit, $12.7 million, that could be reduced by as much as $9.3 million with an extension, according to Over the Cap. But there has been no progress in that negotiation — assuming there is or was one in the first place.

In the meantime, the Bills may have just drafted Edmunds' successor in Terrell Bernard, about whom defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier said: "He's a guy that we're hoping can give us some depth, if we have an injury, that he can step in and perform at a high level for us. Injuries happen in our league."

Not to mention free-agent losses.

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Frazier also addressed Edmunds' play last season, in which he finished with career lows in total tackles (108), assists (38), sacks (0) and quarterback hits (1). Although the coach wants to see more, there is no concern of a decline.

"He's been a tremendous player for us," Frazier raved. "He makes a lot of plays and leads our defense, and you just have to be able to block out the noise and go out there and play the way he's capable of playing, and everything will fall into place.

"... I think he knows this: You want more splash plays. You want those big plays in ballgames. That play he made against the Texans, the interception he came up with, that was a huge play in that ballgame. It really helped propel us along the way to a really good performance. And [we need] more plays like that. And if we get that, he'll help take us to another level as a defense. He's capable, he's shown that."

No matter. Edmunds is not skipping out on these voluntary workouts the way safety Jordan Poyer, who also seeks an extension, is. So at the very least, he earns extra credit for that.

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Edmunds has been a starter from Day 1 and remains a productive player. His goal this year is no different: To keep increasing his productivity and be the best he can be.

"Obviously you think about [the contract] a little bit," Edmunds admitted, "but you know, I can't control that. ... All I can control is how I come out each and every day and just work. All that kind of stuff, you kind of just put it on the top shelf and just do the stuff that you've been doing this whole time.

"And like I said, that's just me coming out to work and me continuing to get better. Because [there is] still a lot of stuff that I know I can get better with and just control the things that I can control."

Edmunds likely is headed for a big payday one way or another. He just doesn't know if the money is going to come from the Bills.

On the one hand, he has tremendous ability and makes big plays. On the other, he might not make enough to justify the Bills paying him what he'll almost certainly command on the open market.

For that reason, 2022 is the most important one of Edmunds' career.

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Nick Fierro is the publisher of Bills Central. Check out the latest Bills news at www.si.com/nfl/bills and follow Fierro on Twitter at @NickFierro. Email to Nicky300@aol.com.