Bills’ biggest mistake at 2025 NFL trade deadline

The Buffalo Bills have a division game to prepare for, and they didn’t get any reinforcements by way of trade. And here is the Bills’ biggest mistake at the 2025 NFL Trade Deadline.

Let’s be clear. The Bills are still an elite team in the AFC. Whoever makes it to the Super Bowl will have to find a way to get past the Bills. They stand at 6-2 and will likely be favored to win in all but two of their remaining nine games. And since one of those is the Patriots, the Bills stand a good chance to get revenge for an earlier loss.

But, boy, did general manager Brandon Beane pull off an all-time trade deadline whiff.

Super Bowls don’t come around often

The Bills should know that by heart. They haven’t made the big game since the 1993 season. Beane had a chance to put this team over the top.

Now, in fairness to Beane, he picked up Amari Cooper last season. And the move failed spectacularly. Cooper caught only 20 passes in eight games with two touchdowns. And in three playoff games, he managed only six catches for 41 yards. That’s just terrible.

But that was more about Beane misjudging what Cooper had left in the tank. Maybe Beane was afraid of the same mistake this time.

However, when you have a generational talent like Josh Allen at quarterback, you keep trying. You don’t hope for a walk. You swing for the fences. But Beane didn’t get the downfield threat the Bills needed.

Beane got proactive and tried to defend himself, according to ESPN.

“Unfortunately, it takes two to tango, and we tried on quite a few,” Beane said. “And a lot was just, yeah, we’re not moving. And some was, we ran into a couple teams in our division were trading and couldn’t get a lot of interest there.”

But that’s a weak argument. If you want it bad enough, trades happen. Look at the Dallas Cowboys. And look at the Indianapolis Colts. They saw what they wanted and paid the price.

But Beane said his hands were tied.

“I mean, my job is to not be reckless with this role,” Beane said. “It’s not fantasy football. It’s not. Fantasy football is awesome for what all it brings to our game, but this is not fantasy. There are so many ramifications of cost and draft picks.”

Still, the numbers don’t lie

Allen simply hasn’t been moving the team the way he did in the past.

“Quarterback Josh Allen has averaged 7.3 air yards per attempt, the lowest of his career, and targeted 20-plus yards on a career-low 10.8% of throws,” Alaina Getzenberg wrote. “Of his total yards, 51.5% have come from yards after catch, his second straight year with over half his yards coming as yards after the catch (2024, 56.4%). The biggest passing game success has come when the tight ends get heavily involved, notably Dalton Kincaid, who has two 100-plus yard performances.”

Adding fuel to the fire, the type of receiver the Bills needed departed the Saints via trade to the Seahawks. Shaheed would have been a nice fit for the Bills.

Still, Allen stood by his general manager.

“I’m just kind of locked in on what’s going on here,” Allen said. “I trust Beane and what he’s got, what’s going on. I know, I can figure, maybe the outside perspective of people aren’t too happy. But again, I trust Beane, I trust the players on this roster.”

HC Sean McDermott echoed those sentiments

“I believe in Brandon,” McDermott said. “Listen, I believe in his staff. And as a coach and a coaching staff, you’re always looking for those quality players that you feel like can exponentially increase your odds of winning. I think any coach or coaching staff would say that.

“I love our team. I believe we can win, and the reason is we’ve got guys who are buying into playing as a team, playing for one another. We’ve got a culture that’s ripe and a coaching staff that knows how to develop players. Do we have some holes due to some injuries? We do, and it’s frustrating. But that’s also where young guys have to step up.”

Time will tell. But when January rolls around and the Bills fall a little short, it would be hard not to remember that Beane failed to provide a little bit at the trade deadline.