Buffalo refused to bid for unrestricted free agents Jonas Jennings and Pat Williams.

It has retained only one of its own players, third-string tight end Ryan Neufeld.

It signed quarterback Kelly Holcomb and guard Mike Gandy, for depth purposes mainly. It cut safety Pierson Prioleau.

All of these moves seem to indicate a team in salary cap trouble, not one in position to do serious business to improve a 9-7 team close to making the playoffs. But GM Tom Donahoe disagrees.

"Our current cap situation would not prevent us from signing any player that we are interested in," he told his team's website.

While the Bills are not in position to make the kind of blockbuster moves of the past two seasons, obtaining the likes of Takeo Spikes, Sam Adams, Lawyer Milloy and Troy Vincent, they also don't have to. Donahoe did his heavy lifting in 2002, '03 and '04. At some point, money does get tighter but Donahoe insists Buffalo's cap will never choke off the airway.

"We have the flexibility and the ability to create room when it is necessary. The most important thing that you try to do with the cap is to be flexible and manage the cap on a daily basis," he said.

That's why one day Buffalo's cap could be $650,000, and the next $2 million.

After signing Holcomb and Gandy, the Bills were an estimated $800,000 under the cap. But after releasing Prioleau and clearing $1.25 million in room, they were back over $2 million. Meanwhile, talks are underway to restructure tackle Mike Williams' massive contract in hopes of freeing up another $2 million to $3 million.

An impending trade of running back Travis Henry would create another $1.25 million. Buffalo can also cut safety Coy Wire to gain another $1 million.

Buffalo's cap number goes up and down with every roster move.

"There has been much information and misinformation about the salary cap," Donahoe said. "The salary cap is somewhat like the stock market in that an individual team's salary cap can change almost daily depending on the moves that you make."

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