Trade Deadline has come and gone

[BillsFanForever19]

Don't know how legitimate this is. I tend not to trust any Twitter accounts that aren't official NFL Media members. But lots of Bills accounts are running with it and Schefter did say he was following a trade that fell through at the last minute:

 

 

[Nihilarian]

4 hours ago, Buffalo Boy said:

Josh IS the Bills right now. 
End of story, full stop. 
As Josh goes, so go the Bills. Josh not winning a SB is the Bills not winning a SB.

When viewed through the lense of insanely talented player that he is, it is moronic NOT to see the comparison.

As much as I love our QB this is simply not the case anymore. Cook is a huge part of this offense and if used more on the passing game he would be another Thurman Thomas. Not only the RB but the defense with so many players contributing played a big part of that huge win against the Bills biggest nemesis. 

 

Bills fans are seriously putting far to much emphasis on obtaining a player that really wouldn't do much for the team right now. This team is a run centric offense and they have two WRs in the background that can contribute in Palmer, Davis. Plus for the defense they have Landon Jackson and TJ Sanders, Dorian Strong, Damar Hamlin, DeQuan Jones. 

 

Besides what we heard is that Beane was attempting to bring in others but alas other teams wanted to much in trade compensation and we know Beane loves his draft picks. Miami was clearing asking too much from everyone. 

[Sierra Foothills]

12 hours ago, TheBrownBear said:

The Colts saw their likely playoff opponents and knew that they absolutely needed someone that could lockdown Keon Coleman.

 

That was a good laugh!

 

12 hours ago, HappyDays said:

I'm obviously not happy they didn't add to the WR room. I thought it was a mistake in the offseason and I think it's still a mistake now. The AFC is wide open but I don't trust this offense to make critical plays in critical moments at the end of games.

 

But oh well, they'll play the games and we'll see if they were right to stand pat. I'm not gonna spend the rest of the week whining about it. They made their bet and they have to be right.

 

Agreed. Nothing worse than persistent, chronic whining on a message board... or anywhere else.

 

12 hours ago, BuffaloRebound said:

the fact that the chiefs added no one and neither did the patriots was a win.  

 

True... unless you consider Mike Pennel to be a major addition which I'm sure you don't. The Patriots did stockpile draft picks though so they benefited from the trade deadline in a reverse sort of way... they now have 10 draft picks in 2026.

 

12 hours ago, Einstein said:

Jets do something smart, for a change.

 

Moral: There are some teams you simply don’t do business with. Period. I hope Beane at least learned this lesson (I honestly think he did and we never see another trade with KC during Allen’s tenure).

 

 

 

Clearly the Jets and Dolphins were not going to deal with us unless we dramatically overpaid.

 

12 hours ago, Ned Flanders said:

Bills fans today

 

Yes. Also I feel like the kid who didn't have a very good Christmas.

 

12 hours ago, D. L. Hot-Flamethrower said:

I think this is it, people have seen way too many misses recently.

 

It's too early to say but it looks like the 2025 draft could go down as another 2022 draft which is to say, pretty darn good.

 

11 hours ago, HamptonBillsfan said:

The guy did nothing because the fanbase supports ineptitude. 2 years we don’t have a legitimate #1or #2 receiver. We lose 3 D_tackles long term and he does nothing. We lose our starting safety, he stands pat. I’m sorry, his drafts suck,why are we afraid of bringing in a good player for draft choices that don’t pan out.

 

Ineptitude? Is that what you call a .647 winning percentage and 7 playoff appearances in 8 years... on the heels of a 17 year drought?

 

11 hours ago, Kirby Jackson said:

You tell me the specific deals that you would have made and we can discuss. I’m on record as willing to pay that 4th and 5th for Shaheed. I’m assuming the Bills would have needed more as those picks will probably be later than Seattle’s. Maybe I would have paid the 4th & 5th needed for Meyers. Otherwise, there wasn’t a deal to be done that we know about. They were trying to get BTJ. I don’t know what the compensation would have been but there’s certainly a line. My line might have been past Beane’s (eg: I might have tried for that Shaheed deal) but there’s no such thing as “whatever the cost is.” If they wanted 2 firsts for BTJ (for example) no way.
 

So I’m asking you, and everyone else in the “do something” camp to be really specific as to what you would have done AND where your line was on those deals?

 

11 hours ago, Kirby Jackson said:

Again, I’m asking, “which specific move AND at what price would you have done?” 

 

As you point out, it's hard to judge Beane today because we don't know what was on the table... we don't know what he turned down.

 

We can only judge Beane on the trades that other teams made. For instance he didn't give up a 3rd rounder for Shaheed. Some GMs might have. It'll be interesting to see how Shaheed does in Seattle though that wouldn't apply to the Bills anyways.

 

We could possibly have outbid Dallas for Logan Wilson, provided Cinci would trade him to an "enemy." He cost Dallas a 7th rounder.

 

For the sake of a better discussion, who are the traded players we should have outbid teams for?

 

10 hours ago, HamptonBillsfan said:

You remember George Allen’s Redskin teams? They never had any draft choices, they were great every year with Sonny and Billy Kilmer. I’m not saying sacrificing like that is necessary but important pieces need to be brought in when you have holes.

 

George Allen's Over-the-Hill gang never won a Super Bowl so not the greatest example. The Rams and Eagles are arguably examples of teams which have made bold moves that have paid off... but the exception is not the rule. Most big swings are misses... how are the Packers doing with Parsons?

 

9 hours ago, mjt328 said:

My analysis is referring to Beane as a GM overall.  Not just the 2025 trade deadline.

 

He started with a reputation of being aggressive and bold.  But over the last many years (with the team on the edge of Super Bowl contention), he's become overly timid with upgrading the roster.  In free agency.  In the draft.  In trades.  While teams in our position should absolutely be making "all-in" moves, Beane is always hedging his bets towards the future.  Some think it's smart.  Many Bills fans believe it's a huge mistake.

 

There were many on this board who wanted to see us attempt a trade-up in the 2024 draft for a WR.  Make a blockbuster move and go up for Malik Nabers, or a smaller move for Brian Thomas Jr.  But nope.  We kept hearing how expensive it was for those oh-so valuable draft picks.  It wasn't even something on the table for Beane.  First round picks are just too valuable.  Of course when our pick rolled around, Beane was so impressed with the top WR on his board that he traded back and just took whoever was left over.  Yay for Keon Coleman.

 

The reason we don't have much cap space is because Beane prefers to fill the roster with 3-4 solid/mediocre players (Josh Palmer, Curtis Samuel, Elijah Moore) instead of making an aggressive trade for a really top-level guy.

 

This is mostly fair although Beane did make big, bold moves for Stefon Diggs and Von Miller. Since then he's said more than once, "you're never just one player away."

 

I'm a bit disappointed that the Bills ended up standing pat but I also admire the discipline and the conviction that they have in their valuations. This is not a team that's going to throw money around simply to appease their fans... and I respect that.

 

Edited 3 hours ago by Sierra Foothills

[Beck Water]

Beane slept in?

Edited 8 hours ago by Beck Water

[jahnyc]

Surprised and disappointed that we could not trade for a DT that would be an upgrade from the former Bills players who were in today to try to fill a roster spot.  WR was a tougher position to upgrade at this time, although I was hoping for Shaheed because he also would have helped our special teams return game which has been lackluster with Codrington regressing from last season and being inactive.

 

I am happy that the Chiefs did not get Hall from the Jets.  That would have been a significant upgrade for them.  

Edited 8 hours ago by jahnyc

[HappyDays]

1 hour ago, Shaw66 said:

In the piece by Kubiak in the news that someone discussed, Kubiak said that teams are playing two deep a lot against the Bills.

 

I can't find the stat from this year, but last year we faced the lowest percentage of two high coverage shells in the NFL at 37.7%. This is per Joe Marino's substack. I swear I remember hearing we are similarly low this year but I don't know the exact percentage or ranking. Defenses are definitely very mindful of Allen's ability to deliver strikes to the intermediate area of the field, but they are not worried about us getting behind them. They're able to cheat a bit and compress short and intermediate passing windows because we have no way of punishing them for it. A lot of Allen's initial reads end up muddy because a coverage defender that should be in conflict is able to stay leveraged both low and high because they have no fear of one of our WRs darting past them.

[HappyDays]

54 minutes ago, Buffalo716 said:

Even Knox went down the sideline for a big pass the other day.. we have tight end stretching the field 20 yards down the field

 

That was a very nicely timed PA out of 12 personnel that 100% fooled KC. Brady won that play, not the receiver. I don't really count that as an example of Knox "stretching the field." But I will give our offense some credit for finding some explosive pass plays against KC. That was totally missing in previous weeks. That PA to Knox, Kincaid's TD, the 47 yarder on Kincaid's crosser, the flag route to Moore. No coincidence that all 4 of our TDs came on drives that featured those 4 plays.

 

In fact the outcome of drives in this game perfectly correlated to whether we had a 20+ yard pass play. On 4 drives we had a 20+ yard pass and scored a TD on all of them, on 5 drives we didn't have a 20+ yard pass and failed to score a TD on all of them. That's how critical it is to be able to produce those explosive passes.

 

I remain unconvinced that we can consistently create those plays with the current personnel, especially if we're ever in a situation where the defense knows we have to pass, and I would have preferred to add a weapon that gives us more consistency there. But maybe they can build off this last performance and prove me wrong. We'll see.

 

Edited 8 hours ago by HappyDays

[Buffalo Boy]

22 minutes ago, Nihilarian said:

As much as I love our QB this is simply not the case anymore. Cook is a huge part of this offense and if used more on the passing game he would be another Thurman Thomas. Not only the RB but the defense with so many players contributing played a big part of that huge win against the Bills biggest nemesis. 

 

Bills fans are seriously putting far to much emphasis on obtaining a player that really wouldn't do much for the team right now. This team is a run centric offense and they have two WRs in the background that can contribute in Palmer, Davis. Plus for the defense they have Landon Jackson and TJ Sanders, Dorian Strong, Damar Hamlin, DeQuan Jones. 

 

Besides what we heard is that Beane was attempting to bring in others but alas other teams wanted to much in trade compensation and we know Beane loves his draft picks. Miami was clearing asking too much from everyone. 

I didn’t want a trade at all. 
I have little faith in Beane’s ability to

A. pick WR receiver talent 

B. Pay the proper price.

 

But I stand by my assessment that Josh is the reason we are who are, where we are. Not just this season but in terms of this run. That was in regards to the comparison w/Rivers, although Josh in better than Rivers

[Nihilarian]

4 minutes ago, Buffalo Boy said:

I didn’t want a trade at all. 
I have little faith in Beane’s ability to

A. pick WR receiver talent 

B. Pay the proper price.

 

But I stand by my assessment that Josh is the reason we are who are, where we are. Not just this season but in terms of this run. That was in regards to the comparison w/Rivers, although Josh in better than Rivers

Well, so many here complaining that Buffalo didn't grab that #1 WR that simply wasn't available out there. Clearly the Dolphins were asking far too much for Waddle.

 

Brandon Beane is consistently ranked among the top general managers in the NFL, often placing in the top five due to his successful roster-building strategies and contract negotiations. His leadership has transformed the Buffalo Bills into a competitive team, making him highly regarded in the league. Also, don't forget that a GM is sometimes only as good as his scouting staff. 

 

This is a playoff roster the last four seasons and the only reason as to why the Bills haven't been to a Super Bowl was because of the team they just beat this week. The Chiefs have been the very best team in the NFL the last five years in terms of wins and the #2 team has been the Buffalo Bills.

 

While Josh Allen has been great at times there have been some games where he hasn't been so great. That recent Falcons game comes to mind and last year it was against the Texans. He isn't perfect and has flaws... like with his deep passing and I wouldn't trade him for any other QB. It is a team sport and this GM has built an excellent offensive line to protect our cherished QB. They have a top 3 RB with Cook and Buffalo has the #1 team in rush attempts, #1 in rush yards, #2 in rushing TDs, #4 in rushing yards per attempt. 

 

I think this GM went all out for a pass rusher in Von Miller that because of injury didn't pan out. He went all in for a WR in Stephon Diggs and while he was great against average teams. Although he failed to live up to his value in the playoffs. What would it take to obtain a Justin Jefferson, a Ja'Marr Chase. It would clearly be cost prohibitive for not only draft picks but also cap space. 

 

Besides, weren't the 2024 Buffalo Bills the #2 team in the NFL in points scored without that #1 WR? Plus, because the Bills are utilizing a run centric offense it has allowed the offense to be very careful with turnovers being the #3 team in turnovers lost and the #1 team in turnover ratio at +24. 

 

I for one am very happy with what I saw in the Buffalo defense against the Chiefs and going forward I have faith that this might be their year. 

 

 

[GunnerBill]

1 hour ago, HappyDays said:

 

That was a very nicely timed PA out of 12 personnel that 100% fooled KC. Brady won that play, not the receiver. I don't really count that as an example of Knox "stretching the field." But I will give our offense some credit for finding some explosive pass plays against KC. That was totally missing in previous weeks. That PA to Knox, Kincaid's TD, the 47 yarder on Kincaid's crosser, the flag route to Moore. No coincidence that all 4 of our TDs came on drives that featured those 4 plays.

 

In fact the outcome of drives in this game perfectly correlated to whether we had a 20+ yard pass play. On 4 drives we had a 20+ yard pass and scored a TD on all of them, on 5 drives we didn't have a 20+ yard pass and failed to score a TD on all of them. That's how critical it is to be able to produce those explosive passes.

 

I remain unconvinced that we can consistently create those plays with the current personnel, especially if we're ever in a situation where the defense knows we have to pass, and I would have preferred to add a weapon that gives us more consistency there. But maybe they can build off this last performance and prove me wrong. We'll see.

 

 

Agree with almost all of this. I didn't love this trade market though at receiver. Do I honestly think Jakobi Myers, Rashid Shaheed or Calvin Ridley were the peice that made the difference here? No. Not really. I like Myers but he is not really a vertical down the field receiver. He is another hybrid slot / outside guy who does his best work in the middle of the field. Shaheed is similar and while he does have downfield speed he isn't really an X receiver who is going to dictate coverage. He is more like a better (and bigger) version of Elijah Moore. Calvin Ridley if you are getting the version of him from a couple of years ago would have been thr closest to what we need. I have no idea what compensation the Bills were willing to give to make that deal happen, but for my part it had to be less than we gave for Cooper a year ago. Giving up more day 2 draft ammunition for guys the wrong side of 30 wouldn't be for me. I don't think Ridley is a Cooper level talent in any event. 

 

Beane made his wide receiver bed in the spring. Then shouted at some radio guys to make himself feel better. But the bed he made he must now lie in. If this regime is still here in April it should be with a clear dictat from Terry Pegula: Find Josh a #1 receiver or else.

 

EDIT: as an aside.... Tory Horton in round 5 would still have made a big difference to this roster. Imagine him returning kicks and offering some situational deep threat here as he is in Seattle (scoring 6 total TDs while he is at it) over Tyrell Shavers. 

Edited 7 hours ago by GunnerBill

[Pete]

 

[BillsFanForever19]

I keep seeing people saying this and it drives me insane:

 

 

Like do people think that you make an offer to a team and it's just the first team that makes the offer just gets the player?

 

Like the Saints would be like "Hold on Seattle - I know historically your picks are better, you're out of the Playoffs before Buffalo, and your QB isn't named Josh Allen. But Buffalo got here first and we have to give him to them bc of that"?

 

It wouldn't have cost us a 4th and 5th. We'd have to pay more than Seattle bc their picks are presumed better.

[Sojourner]

4 hours ago, Beck Water said:

Beane slept in?

Bet you he claimed the players on his Fantasy Football waiver wire though!

[ClosetFan]

4 hours ago, jahnyc said:

Surprised and disappointed that we could not trade for a DT that would be an upgrade from the former Bills players who were in today to try to fill a roster spot.  WR was a tougher position to upgrade at this time, although I was hoping for Shaheed because he also would have helped our special teams return game which has been lackluster with Codrington regressing from last season and being inactive.

 

I am happy that the Chiefs did not get Hall from the Jets.  That would have been a significant upgrade for them.  

Veach asleep at the wheel . . .

[GunnerBill]

1 hour ago, BillsFanForever19 said:

I keep seeing people saying this and it drives me insane:

 

 

Like do people think that you make an offer to a team and it's just the first team that makes the offer just gets the player?

 

Like the Saints would be like "Hold on Seattle - I know historically your picks are better, you're out of the Playoffs before Buffalo, and your QB isn't named Josh Allen. But Buffalo got here first and we have to give him to them bc of that"?

 

It wouldn't have cost us a 4th and 5th. We'd have to pay more than Seattle bc their picks are presumed better.

 

Also I don't think Shaheed is the player some imagine him to be. That isn't to say he isn't good. Or he wouldn't have helped some. But I think people are building him in their heads to be something he isn't. He isn't a player who transforms this offense. 

[H2o]

No moves except the clearing of some cap space to add street FA's. Such is the life of a Bills fan. We had started to see what this defense could be with Hoecht looking like Lattimer on the juice again. Then, pop goes the achilles and we are right back at square one. I would have loved to see a move for another high energy pass rushing threat, or a WR, but the 2025 squad is the 2025 squad. Here's to hoping McDermott calling the defense again keeps us along the same trajectory, and the play from our TE's continues to offset the mediocre WR room. 

[Pete]

Keon has more snaps than any other WR for some unknown reason.  In what universe does that make sense?  Is there a worse starting WR today?  He’s been disciplined a couple times.  He gets zero respect from opposing defenses.  They put a Safety in the box, and dare us to beat them over top.  But our WR, especially Coleman, have trouble separating.  It was an easy position to upgrade, and we failed.

 

We get Palmer back soon, that will help.  But Keon has zero business starting.  We lose Mack Hollins and Amari, and Palmer is supposed to replace those 2.  Moore was an afterthought, after Beane’s WR tantrum on WGR, he signed Moore from the scrap heap.

 

Shaheed is exactly what we need.  I know there are brilliant minds in FO.  How can they not see this obvious truth? A 3rd rounder would have gotten it done.  
 

Shaheed would have upgraded the return position, and allow us to replace Coddrington with a more useful player.  Shaheed fit under the cap.  Shaheed is the fastest WR in the NFL and would have gotten instant respect.  Teams would have backed up- great for Cook, Shakir, Dalton.  But we nothing, and they crowd the box, and make everything more difficult.

 

We lose Hoecht and Ed, and do nothing.  Useful players went for a 5th.

 

Im shocked Beane did nothing.  We have a good as chance as any team of winning SuperBowl this year.  Why wouldn’t you want to improve yesterday?  Like Marino said- “Brandon Beane- you better to be right.  Hopefully you will be at peace with yourself, for the lack of action, at the end of the season”

Edited 3 hours ago by Pete

[ProcessTruster]

Palmer, Samuel and Moore will be healthy post-'Phins and then off we go with that group.   Bills would have needed to give a 3rd and a 4th for Shaheed.   Beane was wise not to do that when he has Palmer, Samuel and Moore available and under contract.  

 

Keon will see his snaps reduced once Palmer is back and that is that.   

 

Trust the Process.  Mc Beanes know what they are doing.   They know the Jones, Palmer et al return timelines better than any of us do.  Plus there is no cap space for any of the big names. 

 

 We have the roster; just need to get it off. IR and back on the field.  

 

Go Bills. 

[D. L. Hot-Flamethrower]

At the end of the day for me it always comes back to the value system in place. Beane is very arrogant about how he values things. Whereas another GM will value a WR skill set that the team is lacking to be worthy of a 1st or second round pick. Beane values it as much lower, likely a 3 or 4. And, when it comes to paying a WR, he'd much rather not go big bucks and piece it together. He also made in my estimation a huge ego related error by calling into WGR in the spring. It has caused him to be more stubborn and dig his heels in more because he needs to be right.

 

I'm done with this all now. He better be right!

[Livinginthepast]

So now that the dust has settled. Any players on the scrapheap we can bring in? Free agents? retired? washed and old? I'm joking but I am half not!