More Moves Coming... Bills Tease Roster Changes

As we know, the Bills already made their big splash ahead of this year's trade deadline, trading for Amani Hooker and giving away a second round pick, and of course, getting on top of it, a fifth from the Tennessee Titans. But just hours after that move was made, Brandon Bean came out in front of the press and said this. You're never one player away. You're not. And I was taught that early. And of course, in that press conference, the trade deadline officially closed, And he went a step further. about making more moves. Sometimes guys get waived or something. You never know. Things can happen where you can still get a guy. And this wasn't just talk as that same night Buffalo quietly cleared a spot on its practice squad. And since that moment, Bill's fans have been tossing around rumors and speculation about the biggest names across the NFL. Could Tyreek Hill be on his way to Buffalo? Joey Bosa? I've even seen Odell Beckham Jr. return talks popping up. But I want to state this from the jump. Most of the big names, the flashy headlines, they are not coming to Buffalo. But there are a couple of names out there that just might. So what does a team like the Buffalo Bills at 7-1 right now actually need? And who could they actually get? And Bean wasn't just saying this for the sake of it or being polite to the people out there on the open market or anything like that, because later in that press conference, he laid out exactly how he'd make one of these moves. He said you can add in different ways. You can add on the practice squad. You can add a starter, a difference maker, a guy that's proven. Now, he's also said he won't get reckless in the fall because people always want you to trade for players and he gets that. So Bean's not going to make a move that risks what Buffalo has going right now. Obviously, the top of the AFC, like the Bills are a wagon and even if you bring in another talent out there via signing, you don't want it to risk messing up the chemistry, messing up what the Bills have going right now. So the question isn't just can the Bills add another talent to this team? Can they add someone that makes sense for this roster? Because everyone wants one player to come in and change this team, and we're hoping Amani Hooker does have a positive impact. But there's a reason Bean keeps saying you're never just one player away, and history tells that story. The last four times this team's season ended, it ended by six points or less. A 42-36 overtime game in Kansas City back in January of 2022, the 13 seconds game that everyone remembers. You have the 27-24 game against the Chiefs two years later, then 32-29 the AFC Championship game the year after that, and then last January, it was 33-30 in overtime in Denver, and after Buffalo led 27-23 out there in the fourth quarter. And Sean McDermott was fired 24 hours later. And across the five playoff losses of the Josh Allen era, opponents averaged 33.2 points a game. Buffalo still scored 24.6 points a game in those losses, which wins most playoff games And just last season, one of the last-minute additions, you know, post the trade deadline ended up playing in that game against Denver, and that was Darnell Savage. So the late ads definitely helped get you to January, but in the past, they haven't been able to help the Bills get over the hump. So the question isn't just, Are the Bills going to sign someone after the trade deadline? That's going to be impactful. There's obviously going to be a bunch of moves, elevations, practice. That stuff is surely going to happen. But if we're thinking bigger, if we're thinking someone out there on the open market, we're thinking on that front is Bean going to bring someone that actually impacts the Bills' chances of winning a Super Bowl. And the Bills sit first in the AFC right now, half a game ahead of those same Broncos. So the first thing that I've seen people talk about out there for this Buffalo Bills team is the Bills adding another receiver that Josh Allen can throw the ball deep to. And that need showed up the day before the Vikings game. Josh Palmer went on injured reserve with a hamstring injury, so he is going to miss at least four games. And that's a bigger loss than his catches say, because 67% of Palmer's targets go 20 or more yards down the field. His average target travels 25.4 yards in the air, and Buffalo is paying him $11.75 million this year to be that guy. Trent Sherfield got called up from the practice squad to take a spot in Monday's game, and with that in Minnesota, Buffalo leaned heavy on James Cook 31 times for 107 yards, which is obviously the game plan you're going to play if you run the ball when the deep ball isn't there. I don't want to downplay the Vikings. They're a good team, but that might work out there in November. That strategy is not going to be effective against Kansas City out there in the playoffs. And the second biggest need is the thing everyone was talking about ahead of the trade deadline, and that is the Bills' pass defense. Now, you go out and you get Amani Hooker, who will certainly help with that problem, but the Bills could double down on solving this issue. And back in October, during the bye week, Leonard came out and directly said that his group looked lost out there. And through seven weeks, they'd given up 15 touchdown passes, tied for second most in the league. And he said that there's too many times that they look confused. Under first-year coordinator Jim Leonard, Buffalo ranks 30th in the league against the pass. They're 23rd in points allowed, which is strange place for a team that has the best record in the AFC. Then on November 3rd, they ended up cutting CJ Gardner-Johnson, the safety who was supposed to fix that. And that's the hole that Hooker's walking into. Now, a big part of this problem will be fixed. Hooker has 17 interceptions in his career, and five of them came this season. So the back end just got its ball hawk. And corner isn't really a worry for the Bills either, as Christian Benford came back on Monday and held Justin Jefferson to two catches for 39 yards. So the thing I've been seeing people say is missing out there for this Bills team is pressure up front. Someone who makes the quarterback give up the ball before the coverage breaks. Obviously, the third thing, and I'm just going to decide the other two as well, it's the money situation for the Bills. Hooker has owed just under $4.5 million for the last nine weeks of the season, and the Titans didn't pay any of it. To fit him in, the Bills had to restructure Deion Dawkins' contract on deadline day. So when looking at the next moves the Bills are going to make, you have to look at all three of those things. And whoever comes next, they have to come cheap. And obviously, the Bills are going to have to get creative following the trade deadline. Up until 4pm on Tuesday, a veteran who got released could sign anywhere he wanted that same day. However, after the trade deadline, every player who gets cut goes through waivers, even the vets. And the waiver order runs from worst record to best record, so the 7-1 team picks near at the very back. So a player who's been a free agent since before this season isn't on waivers at all, so he could sign with Buffalo tomorrow. But anyone cut after the deadline goes through waivers. And Bean, last season, signed both types of guys. On November 25th in 2025, he signed Brandon Cooks a day after he cleared waivers, which means every team ahead of the Buffalo passed on him. And eight days later, he claimed Darius Slay off of waivers from Pittsburgh, two days after he claimed Darnell Savage from Washington. So that was three veterans in 10 days, all after the trade deadline. And obviously with that, he didn't have to give up any assets or any picks or anything along those lines. So when he comes out and directly says in a press conference that he can still go out and get players, he isn't just blowing smoke out there to Buffalo Bills fans. He did it. He's saying what exactly he did for the Bills last season. And if you want to know the minute the Buffalo Bills make their next move, make sure you guys hit that subscribe button because we cover everything regarding the Buffalo Bills with videos, streams, shorts, everything you can want. Hit that subscribe button, it's completely free. We'll deliver your daily fix of Buffalo Bills news. So with all those things in mind, let's run through a bunch of names that are on Buffalo Bills fans' radar, who's actually a realistic target for this team, and who is just maybe a pipe dream for Bills fans that are excited to see a bunch of Photoshops and stuff of different players over the coming weeks. Because again, there's gonna be a lot of crazy rumors out there, but there are a couple of names actually worth watching. First name I'm writing off right now, specifically on the rules, Budabaker's not coming. He was rumored a ton ahead of the trade deadline, but that move was only happening via trade, so we can bring up that speculation again in the offseason. Another popular name in Keenan Allen is already gone as well. The Colts sent him to the 49ers for a 2027 6th on deadline day. And one name I've seen a lot of people yap about is Odell Beckham Jr., who got released on Monday, but This was only so Minnesota could fit Kirk Cousins in after that trade, and he's going right back to their practice squad. And in the game against the Bills on Monday, he only played two snaps without a catch. So I don't expect him coming to Buffalo or him changing the season for this team whatsoever. Bobby Wagner was still unsigned at age 36. I don't expect him to be coming to Buffalo. Matt Milano never signed anywhere either, but he only played nine games across the last two seasons, which is why Buffalo let his deal void. So he's probably not coming back, but there is a name out there in Joey Bosa who is a very interesting one. He had five sacks and a league-leading five forced fumbles in Buffalo last year, which is exactly the pressure this defense is missing. He made $12.6 million on that one-year deal, and a deal now would only pay him for the last weeks of the season that are left at the moment you sign him. The catch is that his brother Nick said in May that Joey wasn't thinking much about an 11th season. It's possible if he wants to play, but he'd need to want to come back. I know Tyreek Hill is another big name people have their eye on as of late as well, and he's a name that's going around pretty well every competitive fanbase right now. As some people really want to get him and some people want to really stay away from him on their teams. But nonetheless, Miami released him in February, five months after he dislocated his knee and tore his ACL in a game against the Jets. His agent said Tuesday, they should be cleared in a few weeks. And his last full season, he had 81 catches for 959 yards. But as of right now, there have been no official reports linking him to Buffalo and the teams that are shopping for receivers right now are the Rams, the Chiefs, the Niners, and the Steelers. Obviously, he's a name to watch just given how talented he is, but of course, not someone I'm counting on coming to Buffalo. But the most likely name is a guy that Bean has already claimed in a similar circumstance. Darnell Savage is healthy again, has 10 career interceptions, and the Steelers let him go in August. He knows this building. He knows this defense. I mean, he was on the roster, what, 10 months ago now at this point, and he also fits that open practice squad spot. Obviously, there's a bunch of names that we ran through, and you never know. Out there in the NFL, there's crazy things that happen every season, but if we're talking about the most likely names, I think Savage is at the top of the list in terms of a guy that could come back to Buffalo or just come to Buffalo in general. However, none of that helps this Sunday, where the Bills go up against the Jets out there at MetLife Stadium. In fact, the trade we made might not help on Sunday either. As Bean said, whether Hooker even plays depends on how fast he learns Leonard's defense. The Bills are 8.5 favorites, and ESPN Predictors gives them an 82% chance of winning this game. Now, the Jets' answer to the Bills' onslaught that they're about to do is David Bailey, who is a guy. It's a pass rusher, and with Palmer out, Allen has one less deep option to get the ball to before Bailey gets there. So obviously, I'm confident in the Bills being able to win that game, but there are still stuff to watch, as with any football game. You never know what's going to happen. After that comes Miami at home on November 22nd, then the Chiefs on Thanksgiving. And last year, Bean's late ads all landed right around that window. So by that Chiefs game, I expect us to know in full whether or not they're complete, adding different pieces to this Bills roster, or if they're just going to run with the group that they currently have. So there are a lot of different directions Bean can go, but there's a couple of clear directions that I think Bills fans are hoping for. The first one is trying to land a receiver that can sign today, because with Palmer out for at least four more. Games, the Chiefs come to town on Thanksgiving, you want to be at full strength, at least have a full arsenal of options for Josh Allen to work with going up against these tough matchups. Obviously, then we're going to be looking at the waiver wire following Thanksgiving, and so that's around the time a lot of the bad teams start cutting their veterans and moves will start to be made. This is exactly the time that we saw Slay and Savage pop up last year. And finally, I think the spot that's going to be open very, very soon is that open practice squad spot. It's ideal if they can get in a veteran that knows the defense and can be slotted in if anyone gets hurt or you need someone in a moments notice. None of this costs a pick and all of it fits a team that used its last real bit of cap space in trading for Amani Hooker. Obviously there's going to be a ton of rumors regarding the big names like Tyreek Hill, Joey Bosa, let me know in the comments if you want to see, type H if you want Hill, type B if you want Bosa, Any of those big names, but obviously. More realistically, there's going to be names like Savage popping up over the course of the coming weeks, and I don't think the Bills are going to be sitting on their hands as they try to make a push for a Super Bowl. But if you want a full breakdown in terms of how this roster is looking and everything that's being said following that trade, check out this video right here.