Bills unlikely to make WR trade

Buffalo originally owned pick No. 28 in the first round of the draft, but the team traded down on two occasions. The Bills saw three receivers (Xavier Worthy, Ricky Pearsall and Xavier Legette) come off the board late in the opening round, limiting their options when they kicked off Day 2. The team received interest in another trade, but instead, they selected Florida State wideout Keon Coleman.

That move should provide another starting option to a receiving corps which also added Curtis Samuel (along with Quintez Cephus) in free agency. Still, the Bills have plenty of production to replace with Stefon Diggs no longer in the fold, and as such, a move producing another veteran would come as little surprise. The team’s cap situation will prevent any sizable acquisitions at this time, however.

Bills general manager Brandon Beane confirmed after the draft (via ESPN’s Alaina Getzenberg) that he does not see a receiver trade as being “realistic.” 

Buffalo entered Monday with just under $2.9M in cap space, much of which will be required to sign the team’s draft class. Further cost-shedding moves — already a key storyline in Buffalo’s offseason — would therefore be required to free up the space for an established wideout.

In other Bills news, Getzenberg’s colleague Mike Reiss reports the Patriots presented Buffalo with an offer for the No. 32 pick. That was rejected before a 32-for-33 swap with the Panthers took place. 

Carolina selected Legette with the final pick of Day 1, and Reiss notes the Patriots’ trade-up efforts likely would have been aimed at acquiring Legette or Coleman. 

New England did end up drafting a pair of receivers, but it comes as little surprise the team’s efforts to trade with a division rival were unsuccessful.