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Nov 01, 2024

What Bills GM said about feeling pressure from other AFC contenders making trades

The AFC is experiencing an arms race in the leadup to the November 5 trade deadline, and the Buffalo Bills appear to be one of the buyers. The trading spree commenced on October 15 when the New York

The AFC is experiencing an arms race in the leadup to the November 5 trade deadline, and the Buffalo Bills appear to be one of the buyers.

The trading spree commenced on October 15 when the New York Jets acquired multi-time All-Pro wide receiver Davante Adams from the Las Vegas Raiders, with the Bills swinging a deal for five-time Pro Bowl wideout Amari Cooper just a few hours later. The conference’s top team responded in kind in the following weeks as the Kansas City Chiefs acquired wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins and pass-rusher Josh Uche, and the Baltimore Ravens just executed a trade of their own that saw them land former Carolina Panthers pass-catcher Diontae Johnson.

There’s a significant disparity between the AFC’s true contenders and the rest of the conference, which makes the top clubs loading up ahead of the trade deadline all the more interesting and, for lack of a better term, stressful for fans of the most competitive teams; it’s natural to wonder if your team is doing enough, or if your team should respond to other contenders making trades by executing a deal of their own.

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Buffalo general manager Brandon Beane spoke about the idea of feeling pressured by other clubs' moves during a recent appearance on the Ross Tucker Football Podcast; speaking specifically about the Chiefs’ trades, the veteran executive told the host that he’s aware of other teams’ maneuvers, but he ultimately can’t be reactionary and has to make moves that are in his organization’s best interest.

“Listen, you’re competitive,” Beane said. “You never want another team, somebody in your division, an AFC rival, whatever it is, you never want those guys to get better. Again, we’re wired competitively. But ultimately, we always have to do what’s best for our team. That’s, whether we make a trade with another club or whatever it is. I mean, people got mad at us at the draft for trading with the Chiefs or whatever, and ultimately, they made a move that they thought fit their team, and we made a move—and that’s what was funny, there can be good moves for both teams. It doesn’t have to be a winner and a loser.

“Everybody’s trying to validate, well who got the best of the trade? And sometimes that does happen, but I think there’s other times when both teams can succeed after a move. Each team had a different need or a different wish for their team in that situation. So no, ultimately, you said the Chiefs, they’re a great organization, they’ve won a lot of great games, and you’re right, they’ve been battle-tested and this season’s no different. They haven’t blown a lot of people out, but they know how to win, and there’s something to that. A lot of credit to [general manager Brett] Veach and coach [Andy] Reid and how they do things.”

Though he’s not necessarily going to make a trade to respond to a rival or for the sake of making one, Beane has stated his willingness to swing a deal ahead of next week’s trade deadline on several occasions. The list of potential Buffalo targets is likely short given its cap restraints, but this isn’t going to stop the executive from placing calls; the trade deadline is scheduled for November 5 at 4:00 p.m.

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