Bills sit out trade deadline. A missed opportunity? Or do they have enough?
For the first time in years, the Bills made no trades before the deadline.
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General manager Brandon Beane's current roster is half a game behind the New England Patriots for the AFC East lead. Mark Konezny / Imagn Images
Noise grew louder as the NFL’s trade deadline approached, but for the first time since the 2021 season, the Buffalo Bills did not make an in-season trade acquisition to help bolster their roster for a Super Bowl push. Even with needs popping up due to some key injuries and in how teams have played them, the Bills will head toward their stretch run without any reinforcements through the trade market.
The Bills, now 6-2 after their victory over the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, are half a game behind the New England Patriots for the AFC East lead and also behind the Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos for the AFC’s top spot. After making trades for running back Nyheim Hines in 2022, cornerback Rasul Douglas in 2023 and wide receiver Amari Cooper in 2024, the Bills elected to hold what they have rather than give up any assets for a player to help in 2025.
Why did they choose to hold? What does it mean for the rest of the season? Should they have pushed harder to get a deal over the line? The Athletic’s Joe Buscaglia and Tim Graham discuss the Bills’ situation.
Joe Buscaglia: Well, Tim, this was quite the anticlimactic trade deadline for the Bills’ purposes. They had a few different needs that emerged throughout the first eight games.
Tim Graham: (General manager) Brandon Beane has admitted he gets twitchy around the trade deadline, and with all the big names being dealt Tuesday, I thought for sure he would push some chips into the middle of the table.
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Buscaglia: To me, what was most surprising was the overall inactivity to add another boundary receiver to the room. Their downfield passing numbers have been getting worse as the year has gone along. You can even look at their last two games.
Against the Carolina Panthers, when targeting their wide receivers, the passing game — led by the reigning NFL MVP Josh Allen with a cannon for an arm — had an average depth of target of 4.75 yards. That shrank to 0.75 yards on completions. Then, against the Chiefs, Allen had an average depth of target of 2.92 yards when targeting his wide receivers, which fell to 2.17 yards on completions. There was a very, very real need there, as teams are crowding the middle of the field to defend them.
Graham: Those numbers are striking. The combination of James Cook’s runs and tight end production makes Buffalo’s offense feel more dynamic, but I do believe that defensive coordinators — as counterintuitive as this sounds — are going to lean toward eliminating Cook and making Allen beat them because the wideouts have been so lackluster and unable to get open.
Buscaglia: The Jacksonville Jaguars pushed out a pair of Day 3 selections to get Jakobi Meyers, then the Seattle Seahawks did the same to land Rashid Shaheed. Though I understand they aren’t game breakers, and it seemed to be a bit of a seller’s market Tuesday, they would have been excellent additions to the Bills’ room to help their intermediate game, and in Shaheed’s case, add some verticality.
If it were me, I would have tried for an even bigger swing on a young player with some term remaining on their contract, despite the draft pick cost. This is the final year of Allen’s 20s. Opportunities like the one they have in 2025 — in a seemingly wide-open AFC where the Chiefs, Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens are all in their rearview mirror in the standings — aren’t guaranteed year over year. They are likely going to have some real changes to their offense next year, most notably with their offensive line.
To me, this just seemed like a bit of a missed opportunity to make the offense more dynamic when they have all these other pieces in place. It probably made it a bit more difficult for fans to watch the Colts do an all-in move in year one with Daniel Jones as their quarterback when the Bills have had Allen for as long as they have.
Graham: I understand the Bills were tight against the salary cap, but Philadelphia Eagles GM Howie Roseman built a Super Bowl roster and continues to add talent when they need it. Roseman has plenty of superstars and huge contracts to manage, yet he added linebacker Jaelan Phillips from the Miami Dolphins as a finishing piece. Beane hasn’t tried that since Von Miller.
I don’t know that Beane needed to bring the big lumber. Yes, your scenario would have been better than what I’m about to mention, but I go back to adding Cooper last year. You look at Cooper’s stat line and would consider the trade a failure: 20 catches for 297 yards and two TDs over eight games. The 31-year-old declined to play at all after the Bills declined to re-sign him, so he clearly was entering his twilight. But Cooper’s mere presence opened up the offense for Allen and offensive coordinator Joe Brady. Defenses had to respect Cooper, and I don’t think defenses respect the wideouts on the Bills’ roster aside from Khalil Shakir, who has been catching passes behind the line of scrimmage for a living lately.
The Bills might be satisfied with the receiver room, which includes injured Joshua Palmer.Gregory Fisher / Imagn Images
Buscaglia: I suppose they’re hoping that Joshua Palmer is the answer to all their problems when he returns from his injury. Maybe with a touch of Gabe Davis, who is still trying to get all the way back from his long-term knee injury last season. Though it rings a bit hollow given that we’ve seen that version of the Bills offense to this point, and Palmer has been more of a bit player than not. It just feels like the Bills are content to ride out this horizontal passing attack, with their running game being the most vertical aspect to their offense, and hope for a chunk play from their tight ends here or there.
Graham: Any type of Dalton Kincaid injury has to be a terrifying thought inside One Bills Drive. Curtis Samuel and Elijah Moore have already been healthy scratches, and Keon Coleman hasn’t taken the next steps you’d want to see from a top draft pick. How many of the Bills’ receivers would even dress for the Chiefs?
Buscaglia: That’s a fair point. Shakir for sure, maybe Coleman and Palmer, but much less confident about the rest. Well, outside of the receivers, the Bills had plenty of defensive needs that they declined to address. I think I was most surprised they didn’t add a rotational defensive end after the Michael Hoecht season-ending injury, considering how important he was the last two games. What about you?
Graham: It’s a shame the New York Jets are in the AFC East because teams don’t like to deal within their division, and the Bills could have harvested some assets there. A lot of Bills fans and reporters were projecting old friend Harrison Phillips’ return (he wasn’t traded), but few could have expected the Jets waving goodbye to their best defensive tackle and cornerback on the same afternoon. Quinnen Williams gave Jerry Jones the big splash he always craves, while Sauce Gardner makes the Colts a stronger AFC contender. What’s your long-term view of the AFC East based on what the Jets and Dolphins have done the past 10 days?
Buscaglia: The Jets have to be the big story, completely setting themselves up to build their team through the draft, but they aren’t likely to be relevant for at least a few years now. If anything, the gulf between the Jets and Dolphins to the Bills and Patriots just widened. I liked the Patriots’ patient approach because they are just in a different spot than the Bills, with not as complete a roster. But it all comes back to the Bills. Even though they are down half a game, I still believe this is their division to lose, and frankly, their AFC and top seed to win. That’s why the lack of activity was just a pretty big surprise.
Might it be a missed opportunity when we look back at things? Possibly. Or will believing in what they have internally prove everyone wrong? That’s also a distinct possibility. But considering how everything — their roster, Allen’s prime and resetting their salary cap last year — has built toward this year in particular, it’s going to be a learning experience over the last few months here, no matter what.
Graham: The Bills and Patriots look like they’ll battle for the division title for the next couple of years at least. If the Dolphins can’t handle another Ctrl-Alt-Delete and stick with Mike McDaniel and Tua Tagovailoa, then that organization simply will remain a disaster without a transition. But as we look at the division right now, the Bills are in second place and must win in Gillette Stadium on Dec. 14. The Patriots have an easier schedule, with two of their remaining games against the Jets’ junior varsity. That’s why Buffalo’s inactivity has fans nervous and why they don’t spout the GM’s “Big Baller Beane” nickname as defiantly as they used to.
