NFL free agency begins tomorrow at 4 pm, and the question around western New York is, "how active will the Buffalo Bills be this year?"

Bills fans have become accustomed to that answer being "not very" over the years.  Last year however, the Bills surprised EVERYONE, signing the biggest name on the free agent list, Mario Williams, to a $100 million dollar deal, as well as signing Mark Anderson away from New England. 

The problem is, both really didn't live up to expectations, so it wouldn't surprise me this year if the Bills are a bit gun shy about blowing big bucks on big name players.  Still it is fun to dream isn't it?

Lets start with linebacker, since one of the most glaring needs for Buffalo is middle linebacker.  The Bills need a maneater in the middle of their defense.  A guy who will spit nails and stop running backs in their tracks the moment they break through the defensive line.  How about the best linebacker to play the postion over the last decade, Brian Urlacher?  I highly doubt it.  First off, he is 34 years old, and will demand way more money than he is worth at this point.  Plus he has been so injury prone over the last five years.  Someone will sign him, but it won't be Buffalo.

Better choices would be Manny Lawson of Cincinnati, DJ Williams of Denver, Barrett Rudd of Houston, Dan Connor of Dallas or Dannell Ellerbe of Baltimore.

How about defensive backs or corners?  What do you think of the Bills signing Ed Reed, Charles Woodson or Ronde Barber?  Well, they would all be great additions if this was 2005.  Unfortunately, it's 2013 and Reed is 35 years old, Woodson 36 and Barber is 37.  They all get by on guile now and would cost way more than they are worth, so I doubt the Bills would look their way. 

A better choice would be Aqib Talib, Marcus Trufant, Tracy Porter or Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie.  All of them are younger and would probably be cheaper.  Would the Bills sign one of these guys for a bunch of money after just re-upping with Leodis McKelvin two days ago?  I highly doubt it.

What about another dominant pass rusher to put on the other side from Mario Williams and REALLY improve the pass rush, with Mark Anderson rotating in?  Well, Dwight Freeney, John Abraham and Osi Umenyiora are all available to the highest bidder.  Problem is, the Bills threw so much money at Williams and Anderson last year, I doubt they would be able to spend enough to land any of the three, as they would all be expensive.  Plus, Abraham is 37 years old, Freeney is 33 and Osi is 31 and perhaps a product of the defensive system.

One of the biggest strengths of the Bills heading into 2013 is their offensive line.  Still, you can never have enough beefcake and studs up front, so what about signing Jake Long or Andre Smith away from Miami or Cincy and moving Cordy Glenn back to guard?  Well, it would make sense if they had a ton of money to spend.  The Bills would not be best suited to spend the kind of money it would take to sign one of those two guys at the price they would want. at a position of strength.  Both are young and have huge upside, so they would be looking for a career-making contract.  Not gonna get it from the Bills.

Scott Chandler has solidified the tight end position for Buffalo, but perhaps they are looking for an upgrade.  Well, Dallas Clark, Dustin Keller, Fred Davis, and Jared Cook are all available.  I doubt the Bills would spend the cash it would take to get one of those guys, knowing Chandler is their current starter.  In other words, I don't think they think any of those guys would be an upgrade.

More likely a possibility:  the Bills could sign Martellus Bennett, Ed Dickson, James Casey, David Thomas or Delanie Walker to use in two tight end packages.

Other than inside linebacker, wide receiver could be the Bills biggest need, and the one that I could see them spending big money on.  The three biggest names on the market are Wes Welker, Greg Jennings and Mike Wallace. 

My problem is, each of them has a downside.  Welker could prove to be a product of the Patriots system.  Would he put up similar numbers in another offense without Tom Brady throwing to him?  Especially in Buffalo, with a rookie or Ryan Fitzpatrick quarterbacking?  I doubt it.  Jennings is injury prone, and Wallace disappears in games.  He has speed to burn, but needs a QB to be able to get him the ball, which I don't think Fitzpatrick could do.

A better option would be to help the overall depth of the receiving corps by going after Early Doucet, Steve Smith (sadly not the Carolina one, but the St. Louis one), Devin Aromashadu, Brandon Gibson, Steve Breaston, Devery Henderson, or Jerome Simpson.

With Fred Jackson and CJ Spiller in Buffalo, there is no need for a running back, but it is fun to think about who is out there.  Steven Jackson, Michael Turner overdrive, Cedric Benson, Shonn Greene, Rashard Mendenhall, Reggie Bush, Peyton Hillis and Beanie Wells are all former thousand yard backs who will be looking for a new home.  It won't be in Buffalo.

A more plausible option with Tashard Choice becoming a free agent, is signing another Dallas back, Felix Jones instead.  Or perhaps Joique or Khalil Bell, of Detroit and Chicago respectively, javon Ringer, Ronnie Brown or Justin Forsett.

Finally, what about quarterbacks?  There HAS to be someone better than Ryan Fitzpatrick out there isn't there?  Uhhh....NO!  Unless you are a fan of Derek Anderson, Jason Campbell, Brady Quinn, Caleb Hanie or Rex Grossman.  Those are the biggest names on the list.  However, there are three intriguing names on the free agent list that I think could give Fitzy a run for his money as a starter or at least be quality backups (better than Tarvaris Jackson, who is also a free agent), and those would be Drew Stanton, Chase Daniel and Matt Leinart.

I still don't really know if Leinart has ever really been given a chance to be a full time starter, and I think he may have the talent to be one.  Same could be said for Stanton, who was highly thought of coming out of Michigan state and has spent his career as Matthew Stafford's backup.  Finally, Chase Daniel doesn't have prototypical size for a QB, but he has to have learned something as Drew Brees' primary backup the last few years.

Well, there you have it.  Will the Bills sign any of those big names again this year?  I doubt it.  I think a backup tight end or quarterback and second line receiver is more likely.  Who knows though, maybe they will surprise us again this year.