Bills Sign TE Charles Clay To An Offer Sheet, Dolphins Have 5 Days To Match

Update:

The Buffalo Bills announced Wednesday that they have signed TE Charles Clay to an offer sheet.

#Bills GM Doug Whaley has confirmed the #Bills have submitted an offer sheet for Miami Dolphins TE Charles Clay.

— Buffalo Bills PR (@BuffaloBillsPR) March 18, 2015

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Vic Carucci reports that the Buffalo Bills have extended Dolphins TE Charles Clay an offer sheet, and he has signed the agreement.

• According to Carucci, the Bills have signed Clay to a five-year, $38 million deal that includes $20 million guaranteed.
• Mike Garafolo reports that the Bills will pay Clay $24.5 million over the first two years of the agreement, as well as a $10 million roster bonus.
• Ian Rapoport mentions that the Bills’ offer sheet is structured to attack the Dolphins’ 2016 cap situation, which is when they will be paying a larger portion of DT Ndamukong Suh‘s contract.
• Carucci adds that the Dolphins now have five days to match the offer.

Every indication has been that the Bills would eventually sign Clay to an offer sheet. However, they’ve spent the past few days working on the best possible way to structure the agreement so that Miami will have a difficult time matching.

Carucci’s source previously estimated that the Bills have a “90 percent” chance of landing Clay in the coming weeks.

• Tim Graham of the Buffalo News reported over the weekend that the Dolphins have “lost patience” with and have “moved on” from Clay.
• According to Graham, the current expectation from the Dolphins is that Clay will end up signing with the Bills.

Clay, 25, caught 58 passes for 605 yards receiving and three touchdowns over the course of 14 games. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 14 tight end out of 67 qualifying players.

We’ll have more updates regarding Clay as the news is available.