Brandon Beane on WGR

[Sierra Foothills]

19 hours ago, LEBills said:

This was my heavily downvoted comment back then. Justice for LEBills too!

 

Still so strange how he handled this. If he had just had a normal response like “hey I wish we could have added a bit more competition there too, but I have confidence the guys we have will do well this year” no one would ever recall this radio segment, even with the WR struggles

 

Beane definitely blew the interview.

 

7 hours ago, IsolateThis said:

There's nothing wrong... with being wrong.  It's the refusal to admit mistakes were made, the doubling-down, and the smugness of it all for me.... 

 

And not mitigating the damage afterwards was also a mistake.

 

7 hours ago, BuffaloBillyG said:

I mean to me, it's ok to be a little smug before the season starts. And it's really ok to be wrong from time to time. 

 

I would say being willing to give up multiple high draft picks at the deadline to get a WR is an admission of a mistake. I'm actually curious to see if this translates to the off-season and he makes some moves to redo the WR room. 

 

I don't think he has a choice. To me WR and LB are our biggest needs.

 

6 hours ago, BuffaloBillyG said:

I have my own theory on what happened based on what we have been told and the timeline of certain events. Goes a little like this.

 

I firmly think that Beane had a deal in place with Miami's former GM, Chris Grier with the terms that we saw. I think once Grier went to Ross to inform him of the trade that Ross disagreed and this along with the tension of the season they have had, led them to "mutually part ways". 

 

After the firing Beane called back and kind of got the run around after being told it's a done deal. I think Miami strung things out long enough that Buffalo didn't have a great chance to pivot to someone else with enough time to make a deal that made sense without making a severe overpay. 

 

Like I said, I see Beane moving on Waddle as an admission of his mistake. I'm HOPING that is is an indication that he will be very active either getting a top WR, or moving up the board to draft one. With the schedule we still have to play and how we looked, we could be starting in the 18-25 pick range. A move up the board from that point wouldn't shock me 

 

Something might have happened in the transition from Chris Grier to Champ Kelly. But like I said before, Beane should have been extremely skeptical about a possible deal with Miami.

 

The two possibilities are either that he mishandled the situation or he was really double crossed/done dirty.

 

6 hours ago, noacls17 said:

Beane might be trash but WGR definitely is! Especially the morning show and shoop!

 

They are unlistenable. I believe that if you spend too much time listening to WGR, you'll actually get stoopider.

 

5 hours ago, thenorthremembers said:

If Beane put all his chips in the Waddle basket and didnt have his assistant GMs working on a back up plan then he doesnt get the benefit of the doubt from me.  He's been in the NFL for nearly 30 years, he has to know that a deal isnt done until the paper work is signed and into the league, on time.  He's literally seen this while he has been the GM here, twice.   Antonio Brown and JD McKissic were both supposed to be Bills.

I like Beane.  I think he's done a good job here, especially early on.   But his excuses for not doing a better job are starting to wear on me. 

On the Bengals having Jamarr Chase- "I dont want to suck bad enough to have to get Ja'Marr Chase"

On failing to make a trade at the deadline- "Unfortunately it takes two to tango"- "it's not fantasy football"

On WGR about lack of WRs- "bitching about wide receiver is one of the dumbest arguments I've heard."

 

Its always on someone else.   Saying he went home as mad as every other fan just shows his mindset.  Beane thinks this is happening to him rather than being so frickin undeniable that he gets the job done.   He makes a lot of money to do his job.  Stop blaming everyone else.  Stop making excuses and get things done. 

 

Really great post. Agree with every word. I like Beane too but recency bias is a fact of life for an NFL GM. 

 

4 hours ago, Dick_Cheney said:

Ehhhhhh I think it's far more likely and realistic that Beane refused to give the 2026 1st and was only offering the 2027 1st and they said no thanks. 

 

The story was that he sweetened the deal with a 3rd rounder.

 

2 hours ago, 2003Contenders said:

I wonder if we will ever find out what the real story was behind the Waddle negotiations.

 

I know many of us have been operating under the assumption that the sticking point in the Waddle trade was that Miami wanted a 2026 first rounder and Beane was unwilling to make that trade. I have gone back and forth on this myself. Part of me maintains that Waddle is a proven player and almost certainly better than any player we could have acquired late in the first round this coming April. Also, he would be a shot in the arm to our struggling passing game and would help us NOW. But, it is worth asking -- are we really just a single WR away from the Super Bowl? What we saw on the field against Miami on Sunday would certainly suggest otherwise. And, again, do we really now that Waddle was available to the Bills for a 2026 1st round pick?

 

From what we gave heard from reliable sources, Beane proposed a 2027 #1 and a 2026 #3, which was the best offer on the table. So perhaps Beane felt like any better offer would have been a case of him out-bidding himself. What we don't know is how serious were the negotiations. Did the Dolphins offer a counter? Were they ever seriously interested in working with the Bills -- or trading Waddle at all? Or, as some have speculated here, was there a deal in the works for the reported parameters -- but Miami pulled out at the final hour? 

 

We also heard rumors that Beane inquired about Olave and was told flatly that the Saints were not interested in trading him at all. Likewise, on trade-deadline-day, he was reportedly steadfast about trading for G. Wilson but the Jets were unwilling to make a trade in division. There was also talk of discussions between Beane and the Commanders about trading D. Samuel, which thankfully were never consummated.

 

As many have said, all GMs make bad personnel decisions. It is forgivable to miss, for example, on the Keon pick. The bigger issue is coming across smug like you know so much more than the interviewers/fans and treating them in a disrespectful manner. I remember the same thing happening with T. Donahoe after he fired Gregg Williams -- he had a press conference in which he was irate and spoke condescendingly to the reporters and fans. He never overcame that misstep, and a GM that Bills fans had previously applauded was soon viewed as a villain. He was gone not long after.

 

If I were a PR man for Beane, I would suggest that he go back on the radio on WGR and not necessarily apologize, but in a witty way acknowledge that they were right and that he has tried (and will continue to try) to fortify the WR position. 

 

 

Another excellent post.

 

What happened at the deadline makes me wonder if Beane has become a dislikable person within his community. While people here often complain about the Bills secrecy (for instance with regard to injuries) and while Belichick was often mocked for his paranoic refusal to divulge any information (going so far as to list 20 players as questionable on an injury report)... I believe that GMs should not be media friendly.

 

I think they should keep a low profile and let their actions speak for themselves.

 

I wonder if Beane's relatively high profile has caused his peers to not like him.

 

Just a thought...

 

Edited 2 hours ago by Sierra Foothills

[Billsatlastin2018]

33 minutes ago, QCity said:

 

The general rule of thumb GMs use is to devalue picks by 1 round for each further year out. So our 2027 1st rounder is only equivalent to next years 2nd round pick. A 2028 1st round pick would be worth a 3rd round pick in 2026, etc, etc. 

 

The correct side of the paradigm is this… ONLY this:

 

With the 27th odd pick in the 2026 do you expect to have available, let alone select a TOP 10 WR?

 

THAT IS THE ONLY QUESTION!

 

The only answer is NO & NEVER!

 

And if the Waddle trade scenario was correct, then that is a firing offence… for being far too ***** stupid & arrogant in your critical position!

[NeverOutNick]

On 4/28/2025 at 12:43 PM, NeverOutNick said:

Didn’t like the way Beane came in hot. Valid questions were asked regardless of our point totals and per game last year. Lost respect for Beane after that nonsense. Grow a pair and answer the concerns of your fans and media without belittling them with fantasy football nonsense. You scored 30+ because you have Josh Allen don’t act like it’s much more than that. Invest in him with cheap long term options instead of expensive jags that other teams didn’t want and maybe get a player that can stretch the field and keep the safeties honest so Josh isn’t playing backyard 7 on 7 football

My opinion hasn’t changed since I heard his interview last April. Also @LEBills is the man loved reading your takes back then

[NeverOutNick]

19 hours ago, LEBills said:

 

 

This was my heavily downvoted comment back then. Justice for LEBills too!

 

Still so strange how he handled this. If he had just had a normal response like “hey I wish we could have added a bit more competition there too, but I have confidence the guys we have will do well this year” no one would ever recall this radio segment, even with the WR struggles

I’m actually glad he did it though because it will just make it even more ridiculous when Pegula keeps everything the same going into next year. Or maybe just maybe it will be enough to finally end this clown show 🙏🏻 🤞🏻

[AlCowlingsTaxiService]

19 hours ago, Mango said:

 

Normal response? IIRC this wasn't even an interview, Beane proactively called to mother fork them on the air.

 

All Beane had to do was yell at his radio alone on his car like a normal person.

No, Beane was on hold and was listening to them during the previous segment 

[DuckyBoys]

At minimum he's guilty of having a big enough ego to not have a backup plan  Guess Josh Palmer was enough and Keon was magically going to turn into a viable wr  That's two years in a row he left the Bills in post Diggs purgatory  Guy is a used car salesman  Always has a smug reply

[RoyBatty is alive]

2 hours ago, RobbRiddick said:

Jesus, you guys were bitching when Beane was bitching about people bitching in the radio back in April and now you’re bitching about him bitching about everyone bitching about the trade deadline

You have been here long enough to realize this is not a shock at all.