NFL writer suggests Bills make blockbuster trade for Pro Bowl DE

The Buffalo Bills’ 2024 offseason was by no means devoid of the team’s now-typical “splashy” moves, but in what was a departure from the recent norm, the headline-grabbing maneuvers that Buffalo executed throughout the spring saw the team to subtract high-level names instead of adding them to his list.

After acquiring players like Stefon Diggs and Von Miller in years past, the Bills moved on with several notable players throughout the offseason, trading Diggs to the Houston Texans while parting ways with mainstays like Micah Hyde, Jordan Poyer, Tre’Davious White, Mitch Morse. , and Gabriel Davis. It was a strategy that marked a philosophical shift: Buffalo is no longer a team that goes all-in for a Super Bowl every year; rather, it is about taking a step back and attempting to re-establish a more solid foundation for lasting success.

Buffalo didn’t add a “household name” this offseason because it is, frankly, not in the financial or competitive position to do so; it would not be up to the team to mortgage the future while it builds a better future. Gary Davenport of Bleacher Report believes the team should revert to its old strategy and trade a future draft pick to immediately improve its roster; In a recent article describing “eight shocking NFL trades that would impact the 2024 NFL playoff race,” the author suggested that the Bills trade a third-round pick in the NFL Draft to 2025 to the Los Angeles Chargers in exchange for defensive end Joey Bosa. .

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“Now, some Bills Mafia members may wince a little at the thought of sacrificing a Day 2 pick in 2025 to get a star player with an injury history,” Davenport wrote. “The Bills took a similar route in 2022, signing Von Miller to a six-year, $120 million pact that produced very little. But Joey Bosa is significantly younger than Miller when the team acquired him, and he has participated in voluntary workouts — a good sign that the foot injury that destroyed his 2023 campaign is behind him.

“Getting Bosa’s contract on the books would take some wrangling, but Brandon Beane is as shrewd a general manager as there is in the NFL. It’s a risky play, but one that could pay off big if the Bills get the Bosa who made three consecutive Pro Bowls from 2019 to 2021.”

The suggestion, in a vacuum, is logical; Buffalo could use some help on defense, as starting edges Greg Rousseau and AJ Epenesa — while they have shown flashes — have not established themselves among the upper echelon of NFL pass rushers. Von Miller is historically dominant (he’s the NFL’s all-time active rushing leader), but he’s coming off a 2023 campaign in which he collected just three tackles and zero sacks. Behind the three on the team’s depth chart are veteran Dawuane Smoot, Casey Toohill and rookie Javon Solomon.

Bosa has been a productive passer since entering the NFL as the third overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, collecting 67.0 sacks and 82 tackles for loss over his eight professional seasons. He’s great when he’s available – as evidenced by his four career Pro Bowl nominations – but his availability is a question mark; he has only played one full season as a professional, most recently missing the majority of the 2022 campaign after undergoing early-season groin surgery and eight more games in 2023 due to a sprained groin. foot.

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In the void Therein lies the feasibility of this trade; None of the moves the Bills have made this offseason suggest they are in a position to trade a second-day draft pick to acquire a soon-to-be 29-year-old who has played in 14 games over the past two seasons. Buffalo could benefit from the passing surge, but there are too many question marks swirling around Bosa to justify parting with a future third-round pick; the value is fair, but the Bills simply aren’t the team to pay that price given their current roster.

Bosa also carries a current cap hit of $26 million, a figure that will increase to $36 million next year (although he has no guaranteed salary for the 2025 season); with about $10 million in salary cap space available, it would take more than “a few wranglings” for Buffalo to add Bosa to its payroll.

The suggestion would have been sound in the past, but given the Bills’ current status as a future-focused “in transition” team (with little immediate financial wiggle room), it’s simply not feasible . Buffalo would probably be better off holding on to the third-round pick and trying to draft a future contributor rather than trading him for an aging passer with only a few years left in the tank.