Sack total, future wealth growing massively for Bills' first-round edge rusher

The Buffalo Bills are receiving highly satisfactory production from their 2021 first-round draft choice.

Ralph Ventre | Sep 10, 2024

Arizona's James Conner carries the ball before getting taken down by Bills Greg Rousseau during first half action at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park on Sept. 8, 2024. Coming up to help out Rousseau is teammate DaQuan Jones. / Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK

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The Buffalo Bills' decision to exercise defensive end Greg Rousseau's fifth-year option looks like a good one, especially after the fourth-year player's Week 1 performance.

The 6-foot-7 Rousseau had his way with the Arizona Cardinals' offensive line during Buffalo's 34-28 victory on September 8. The 2021 first-round draft pick totaled six solo tackles and sacked quarterback Kyler Murray three times, including a strip sack that created a takeaway.

After averaging 5.7 sacks per season over his first three years as a pro, Rousseau has become the primary edge rusher in a rotation that includes future Hall-of-Famer Von Miller. He accounted for a career-high 18 quarterback hits and 13 tackles-for-loss over 16 regular season games in 2023.

"You watch him grow on the field. You watch him grow off the field. The way he's developing on the field is impressive. He's certainly off to a good start, but I think, too, you've gotta manage expectations," said head coach Sean McDermott on Tuesday in Orchard Park.

Should he maintain his high level of performance, Rousseau can establish sky-high expectations when it comes to future contract negotiations. It's almost as if he's adding zeroes to his future paychecks with every multi-sack outing.

In the current market, a double-digit sack season could land Rousseau a contract extension with a $20 million average annual value. Still, there's a full season left for him to prove worthy of that compensation level.

"The game's gonna come to him at times like it did the other day. Sometimes, you're gonna go up against some really good competition and they're gonna win some. I think he's mature like that. He understands that," said McDermott.

It's doesn't sound as if McDermott is worried about a potential mega payday emerging as a distraction for Rousseau as he continues to grow into a larger role.

"Greg is so conscientious. He's always been that way since we drafted him and I'm sure even before that," said McDermott. "He's a phenomenal person, Number 1, and a person of high character."

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