Bills GM Brandon Beane was also 'mad' about team's trade-deadline activity

Bills' quiet deadline was not the plan

When discussing his unproductive deadline on Wednesday, Beane told reporters, via Sal Maiorana of the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: “Believe me, I went home as mad as any other fan. I wanted to do things. I’m always wanting to do things to make this team better. It’s not a store where you can just go in and say, ‘Hey, I’ll pay $20 and take this player.’ It takes two to be able to do it. We’re competitive, we’re always trying, not just on the trade deadline. We’re always looking.”

Beane added that the Bills, who rank toward the bottom of the NFL in cap space, couldn’t “take a $15 million contract (in a trade) with where we’re at with the cap.” With a lack of spending room, Beane admitted he couldn’t go “fishing in the deep end of the pond, so to speak.” 

Who were the Bills interested in?

Despite a suboptimal cap situation, Beane expressed interest in linebacker Logan Wilson and unnamed cornerbacks leading up to the deadline, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reports.

A Wilson trade would have reunited him with Bills quarterback Josh Allen, a former Wyoming teammate, but the Bengals ended up trading him to the Cowboys for a 2026 seventh-round pick. Dallas, which had far more cap space than Buffalo entering the deadline, agreed to take on Wilson’s remaining salary of $2.68M for this season. The Bills may not have been in position to do that.

With Wilson in Dallas, Terrel Bernard, Matt Milano, Shaq Thompson and Dorian Williams will remain Buffalo’s top linebacker options for the rest of the season. The team will also continue with the same group of corners after it didn’t bring in anyone new on deadline day.

Rookie first-round pick Maxwell Hairston, who missed the Bills’ first six games with a knee injury, has provided a boost to Buffalo’s secondary since he debuted in Week 8. The 22-year-old speedster pulled in his first career interception in a win over the Patrick Mahomes-led Chiefs last Sunday. Hairston, who has shared playing time with Tre’Davious White, will continue to handle a key role opposite No. 1 corner Christian Benford. Nickel corner Taron Johnson, Cameron Lewis and Ja’Marcus Ingram comprise the rest of the Bills’ options on the active roster.

While Beane isn’t thrilled with the way the deadline played out for the Bills, most of the AFC’s other top contenders also had quiet days. The 7-2 Colts pulling in Gardner and the 5-3 Jaguars acquiring receiver Jakobi Meyers (a rumored Bills target) were the only needle-moving pickups in the conference on Tuesday. The 7-2 Patriots, who lead the Bills in the AFC East, didn’t make any additions. Neither did the Broncos, Chiefs, or Texans. The Chargers picked up Trevor Penning to help a depleted offensive line, while the Steelers (safety Kyle Dugger) and Ravens (OLB Dre’Mont Jones) made their moves ahead of deadline day.