"The Buffalo Bills are not in danger of deep cuts into their talent base in free agency in 2012 -- with one notable exception, of course.

The future of receiver Stevie Johnson has been the subject of speculation for months, and his status may well be in doubt for two months more -- until the start of the NFL's free agency season on March 13.

Aside from Johnson, however, the Bills have only one other uncontested starter on offense or defense set to hit free agency. That is tight end Scott Chandler. The contract of veteran place-kicker Rian Lindell is up. So is that of left tackle Demetrius Bell, who started six games in 2011. After that, all the Bills' unsigned players set to become unrestricted free agents are backups.

The Bills say they are going to pursue a new deal with Johnson. They are expected to strike a deal with Lindell.

Here's an analysis of where the Bills' prospective free agents stand in the wake of the 2011 season:

- Stevie Johnson, WR: The ideal time to sign a star player to an extension is before the final year of his contract or early into it. By the time the season is over, his risk of injury is gone and he has great incentive to see what his value is on the open market. That's where Johnson stands today after posting back-to-back 1,000-yard receiving seasons and catching 17 touchdowns over the past two years.

Why didn't the Bills strike a deal in August? They weren't ready to pay him close enough to the most recent big free-agent receiver deal signed in 2011. Sidney Rice, after just one big season in which he made the Pro Bowl, got a deal worth $8.2 million a year from Seattle in July. Before that, the most recent unrestricted free agent receiver deal went to Detroit's Nate Burleson, who got $5 million a year. Burleson had 812 receiving yards the year he hit the market but had four poor years and one great one prior to that. There's a gap in the market between $8 million a year and $5 million a year. Just where Johnson should fall in relation to that gap was a subject of debate between the Bills and Johnson's agent entering the season.

"We are looking forward to seeing where discussions go," said Johnson's agent, C.J. LaBoy."