Bills GM disputes report Seahawks are favorites for Ziggy Ansah

The initial wave of free agency is long over, but the drama is more than alive and well. On Wednesday morning it was reported by NFL insider Ian Rapoport the Seattle Seahawks were the favorites to sign defensive end Ezekiel “Ziggy” Ansah.

While this bit of news likely excited Seahawks considering Ansah could provide a nice boost along a Seattle defensive line full of question marks, not everyone was thrilled at the report.

Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane, whose team is still in the hunt for Ansah’s services, came out to thoroughly dispute Seattle’s front-runner status.

Brandon Beane on @1270TheFan on Z. Ansah: “We’re still in talks with him and his agent. Everything has been very good. All I’ll say about reports [Seattle is emerging as favorite] is I don’t buy into that garbage, especially when I consider where some of the sourcing comes from."

— Mike Rodak (@mikerodak) May 8, 2019

More from Beane: “I don’t know where it came from. Maybe it is fact. From the people I talked to that represent, they don’t see it as fact. Time will tell. … Certain people have been wrong more than they’re right and I think it’s a poor job that they’ve done."

— Mike Rodak (@mikerodak) May 8, 2019

Although Rapoport’s initial report did state the Bills remain interested, it is clear Beane considers Buffalo to be more than an afterthought in the Ansah sweepstakes.

Should Seattle and Buffalo get into a true bidding war over Ansah, the Bills would have a slight advantage. According to Spotrac, the Bills have just over $30 million in cap space, whereas the Seahawks only have about $25.5 million.

Having just $5 million more may not seem like much of an advantage, but if the Seahawks are still hoping to arrange an extension for Bobby Wagner this offseason, then they could find themselves outbid for Ansah rather quickly.

Stay tuned to SeahawksWire for further updates.