Bills' Brandon Beane looks like a genius in ESPN mock trade that has Buffalo loading up ahead of the regular season

We're nearing roster cutdown day, folks. By Tuesday, Aug. 26, at 4:00 p.m. ET, the Buffalo Bills and teams across the NFL must trim down their roster from 90 to 53 players. One avenue is through a trade. ESPN's Bill Barnwell has Buffalo loading up with an additional draft pick by sending quarterback Mike White to the Las Vegas Raiders in exchange for a sixth-round pick. That's not a bad deal for a quarterback who isn't expected to make the team's final 53. Chalk it up to another win for general manager Brandon Beane.

The White trade was predicted, in large part, due to the injury sustained to Raiders quarterback Aidan O'Connell. A broken wrist has him out for the foreseeable future, leaving only sixth-round rookie Cam Miller behind Geno Smith as the team's backup. Buffalo has its backup locked in with Mitch Trubisky and no sixth-round pick in the upcoming NFL Draft.

During the 2025 NFL preseason, White appeared in two games for the Bills, completing 12 of 24 passes for 166 yards and two touchdowns. In four seasons with the New York Jets, Miami Dolphins, and Bills, he has started in seven games, completing 199 of 325 passes for 2,247 yards, nine touchdowns, and 13 interceptions. While he didn't set the league on fire, he's a serviceable backup. I mean, if Nathan Peterman is still getting some phone calls, White should look like Superman in comparison. Sorry, Peterman, that five-interception first half still haunts my dreams.

We're going to pretend we live in a world where Buffalo makes this deal, getting a sixth-round pick in return. Let's take a look at what the team has brought in through the draft with its previous sixth-round selections to get a better idea of what kind of player they might be looking at. Focusing specifically on the drafts that Beane was a part of after joining the team in late 2017.

Previous sixth-round selections by the Bills

• 2018: Ray-Ray McCloud
• 2019: Jaquan Johnson
• 2020: Tyler Bass, Isiah Hodgins
• 2021: Marquez Stevenson, Damar Hamlin, Rachad Wildgoose
• 2022: Matt Araiza, Christian Benford, Luke Tenuta
• 2023: None
• 2024: Tylan Grable, Daequan Hardy
• 2025: Dorian Strong, Chase Lundt

That's more than one starter, and even a (should be) All-Pro player in Christian Benford. While it's difficult to hit on these late-round picks, even the smallest chance that the team could bring in a difference-maker for someone who was already planned to be released would be massive for the organization.

Yes, there's more than one dud, but that's part of the beauty of late-round picks; you just never know. At the end of the day, Beane and the front office get another crack at adding key value to the roster after this season, and history shows that he's had success before.