NFL Rumors: Buffalo Bills Make Cordy Glenn Highest-Paid Offensive Tackle

NFL rumors are swirling around Cordy Glenn. It appears that the Buffalo Bills are set to make him the highest-paid offensive tackle in the league. According to ESPN, the franchise is set to hand Glenn a five-year contract worth $65 million. Since he is not the top-ranked player at his position in the National Football League, it should be interesting to see how that affects contract negotiations for other players that are ranked higher.

Like most contracts in the NFL, the deal is not worth nearly as much as people think it is. The overall value of the deal is $65 million, but Cordy Glenn would have to finish the pact in order to be paid the full amount. The 26-year-old is going to be hurting for money, though. He is guaranteed $36 million. Glenn will receive $19 million in 2016 and $11 million in 2017. That’s more than the $13.7 million that he would have received under the franchise tag.

A second-round draft pick in 2012, Cordy Glenn was ranked as the 10th best offensive tackle by Pro Football Focus. He’s a good player, but no one is going to put him in the same class as Dallas Cowboys star Tyron Smith or Cleveland Browns star Joe Thomas. Glenn is now being paid more than Smith and Brown. There’s going to be some pressure to perform when you’re in that scenario.

Despite becoming the highest-paid left tackle in the NFL, Cordy Glenn has never been to a Pro Bowl game. He should change that really soon if he wants to make sure that the mainstream media and Buffalo Bills fans stay off of his back. Glenn will also need to make sure that whoever is his starting quarterback stays as healthy as possible.

One of the biggest priorities for the Buffalo Bills this offseason was to ensure that the offensive line would remain as in tact as possible. Aside from securing the services of Cordy Glenn, the Bills also made sure that Richie Incognito would be coming back. The reclamation project signed a three-year contract with Buffalo that will pay him $15 million. The team also has a solid center in Eric Wood, so the left side of the offensive line is more than solid.

Cordy Glenn owes a debt of gratitude to the Buffalo Bills for the financial windfall because they believed in him as a left tackle. That’s the highest-paid position on the offensive line. Many in the NFL had him projected as a guard, which doesn’t pay nearly as much as being an offensive tackle. Aside from Kelechi Osemele, who signed with the Oakland Raiders earlier in the year, no guard in the National Football League average more than $10 million a season.

The belief is that Cordy Glenn was the highest priority for the Buffalo Bills this offseason. That’s the reason why they used the franchise tag on him. It wasn’t because they wanted to hold on to him for one final season. It was because the Bills needed more time to negotiate a long-term deal with the former Georgia Bulldogs star. Buffalo had no qualms with making Glenn the highest-paid offensive tackle in the NFL because he was instrumental in the team having the best rushing attack in professional football.

The Buffalo Bills and Cordy Glenn are both glad that they were able to come to terms on a very lucrative deal. It probably does not sit well with other teams in the NFL, though. They’re now going to need to pay their offensive tackles more than what they were used to paying for the position.