In countdown to training camp, Matt Milano is 11th Most Valuable Bill

The linebacker had a chance to make more money in free agency but took less to stay with Bills for the next four seasons.

One of the many pleasant surprises of the Buffalo Bills' offseason happened when Matt Milano instructed his agent to work out a new contract with the team, even if it meant leaving money on the table in free agency.

The fifth-year linebacker from Boston College is in the prime of his career and could have cashed in easily. He stayed with the salary cap-challenged Bills for four years and a team-friendly deal of $41.5 million over four years, the last two of which contain no guaranteed salary.

Milano has had a bit of an injury history. That could be because even by today's shrunken standard for the position, he's small for a linebacker at 6-0, 223 pounds. But when on the field, he's indispensable because of the way he can play the pass as well as the run.

Though limited by injury to 335 defensive snaps (31%) in 2020, he still produced 45 tackles to go with career highs in sacks (3.5) and quarterback hits (9).

Thus, Milano ranks 11th in our day-by-day unveiling of the 30 projected Most Valuable Bills for 2021.

According to Next Gen Stats, which is affiliated with the NFL, Milano has been the second-best linebacker in pass coverage since entering the league in 2017.

Matt Milano has excelled in coverage since entering the league in 2017, generating -33.6 EPA on targets (2nd-best among LB). https://t.co/dnjobjGApF pic.twitter.com/sB9XDXLpC1

— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) March 12, 2021

"It was a fair deal kind of for both sides," Milano insisted about his new contract. "The culture that’s brewing there right now is unreal. We got a little taste of it last year and the past four years. It’s something that I want to continue on for the next four years."

Appearing on One Bills Live after signing his contract, Milano said: "I'm just continuing to get stronger, to get faster. I'm more hungry than ever right now. I've got a chip on my shoulder, so I'm ready to go, I'm ready to prove to everybody else what the Bills have.

Milano and Tremaine Edmunds are the linebackers who stay on the field when the Bills go to their nickel package, which is most of the time in today's pass-heavy NFL.

That both are so outstanding in coverage is huge for the way this defense has been constructed.

Extending Edmunds is one of the high-priority projects left on the table for general manager Brandon Beane, who also is in the process of negotiating a monster deal with quarterback Josh Allen.

But getting Milano, who will turn 27 this month, locked in was an encouraging component to the offseason, and the Bills believe he hasn't played his best football yet.

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.