The Bills have offered Dareus more than $90 million over six years, per a source, but Dareus seeks more. All indications are that he wants to be paid on the level of Ndamukong Suh, who signed a six-year $114 million extension with the Miami Dolphins this past offseason. Dareus is scheduled to make $8.06 million this season.
Asked if he had a contract number in mind, Dareus smiled and said “I’ll just say, ‘Thank you, Suh.’”
As I noted during the negotiations for Demaryius Thomas, Dareus and his agent should certainly aim for the top when it comes to opening talks. It’s highly doubtful they’ll get there, but it greatly expands the window of opportunity. I recommend Jason’s take on outlier contracts and more importantly, precedent setters close to home, as Mario Williams has been for the Bills with his 2012’s precedent-busting contract.
Of course, Broncos fans may have their mind wander a bit as to what this means for Von Miller, as Dareus was selected with the very next pick. The Williams precedent is also relevant to Miller, as fellow comparable Justin Houston was able to use it to reset the market. I’ll leave a couple thoughts in the comments.