Buffalo Rumblings
The Buffalo Bills recognize the importance of a strong starting five along the offensive line. They also recognize the value of versatility in their offensive linemen. Most of their linemen on the 90-man roster are able to slot in at multiple positions. While that is a trait that they actively seek in reserve offensive linemen, it’s not one that’s exclusive to their reserves. The Bills have a few starting linemen who either could play elsewhere along the line or have done so already at the professional level.
What this does for the team is that it allows the Bills’ offensive coaches to determine what the best group of five is up front. While some regimes might see a player who is a tackle and keep him outside, never testing his ability as a guard, the Bills try to put the best group of five athletes on the field that they can. This is one of many reasons why the team has been so good up front over the last few seasons.
In today’s installment of “90 players in 90 days,” we discuss Buffalo’s center, a player the team still lists at guard.
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Name: Connor McGovern
Number: 66
Position: G
Height/Weight: 6’5”, 318 pounds
Age: 27 (28 on 11/3/2025)
Experience/Draft: 7; selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the third round (No. 90 overall) of the 2019 NFL Draft
College: Penn State
Acquired: Signed with Buffalo on 3/16/2023
Financial situation (per Spotrac): McGovern enters the final year of the three-year, $24 million deal he signed with Buffalo two offseasons ago. His cap number for this year is $9.385 million if he makes the 53-man roster. If the Bills were to release him, they’d owe a dead-cap charge of $8.74 million, which constitutes the total remaining guarantees on the deal. Those guarantees are slated to count against Buffalo’s cap via void years from 2026-2028.
2024 Recap: McGovern slid over from left guard to center last season, replacing veteran Mitch Morse, whom the team released for salary cap reasons. McGovern looked like a natural in his first pro season at center, as he played in all of Buffalo’s games that mattered in both the regular season and the postseason. He sat out the team’s regular-season finale against the New England Patriots because the Bills had clinched the No. 2 seed in the playoffs.
Pro Football Focus graded him at a 69.6 for the year, which was 12th out of all qualifying centers. McGovern was named to his first career Pro Bowl in his first season at a new position. He did not allow a sack on the season.
Positional outlook: McGovern is still listed at guard, but he’s the team’s starting center. Sedrick Van Pran-Granger, Kendrick Green, and Jacob Bayer are the other listed centers on the roster. Alec Anderson, who serves as the team’s sixth offensive lineman, is listed as a tackle, but mostly plays the interior offensive line when not acting as a jumbo-package sub player, can also play the pivot....
