Bills re-signing Milano to 4-year deal reportedly worth $44M

The Bills are keeping one of their main defenders on the roster for the 2021 season and beyond.

Buffalo reached an agreement on a four-year contract with linebacker Matt Milano on Thursday, the team announced.

The new pact is worth $44 million and includes $24-million guaranteed, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter.

The 26-year-old was set to hit free agency for the first time this offseason after spending his first four years in Buffalo.

The Bills surrendered 24.1 points per game with Milano in the lineup last year, and 29.8 in the contests he missed.

The 2017 fifth-round pick was sidelined for six games due to injury in 2020 and recorded a career-low 45 tackles. Overall, he's racked up 81 tackles, two sacks, and six pass breakups per 16 games since entering the league.

Milano's reported $11-million average annual salary ranks ninth in the NFL among linebackers, according to Spotrac.

Buffalo also extended safety Micah Hyde and restricted free-agent linebacker Andre Smith to multi-year deals recently.