Brandon Beane: Bills have received trade calls on one specific position
Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane knows this time of the year well.
It seems like almost a yearly tradition for Beane to use a trade in the preseason to help him cut down his roster to 53 players.
And why wouldn’t he? Beane has used such deals to add late-round draft picks as well. It’s a bit of a win-win scenario.
So does that seemingly annual trade happen for the Bills in the coming days before Tuesday’s cutdown day? It sounds like it could, and more specifically, Beane referenced one position group it might involve.
Speaking during a televised interview during his team’s preseason game vs. the Green Bay Packers, Beane said he already has had talks with other teams about trades. Specifically, Beane said teams had been calling him, and they’ve been asking about his defensive linemen.
“That’s probably the position we’ve had the most calls is our defensive line and especially the defensive ends,” Beane said. “We just have to decide again there how many we want to keep and who we’d be willing to part with and if the value made sense for us.”
In the past, the Bills have made more than one trade during the preseason involving the offensive line. Evidently it might switch this offseason.
While that might be new, it doesn’t come as a shock.
That’s because in the past, the Bills were rebuilding their offensive line. In doing so, Buffalo’s front office took a “best man wins” approach and stocked the room with talent, and more importantly, bodies.
With the Bills taking that same approach to their defensive line this summer, adding numerous players via the NFL draft and free agency, it makes sense that teams would be calling about Buffalo’s D-line.
Currently the defensive line has some veterans that are locked in. Those include Jerry Hughes, Star Lotulelei, and most-likely Mario Addison. Then on the flip side, some rookies will also lock into spots, such as the team’s top-two draft picks, Greg Rousseau and Carlos Basham.
Behind that core is anyone’s guess. Justin Zimmer and Harrison Phillips are fan favorites that may or may not make the team. A case can be made for both Efe Obada and Vernon Butler to make the roster but another can be made that they have solid trade value as well.
Those names are just scratching the surface, too.
Regardless, the coming days might have some trade speculation involving the Bills and their defensive line.
