The Buffalo Bills are in great shape at the midway point of the 2024 NFL season.
With a dominant 31-10 win over the Seattle Seahawks this past Sunday, which was easily their best all-around performance of the year, Buffalo improved to 6-2 and has a commanding lead in the AFC East, as every other team in the division has won just two games.
Josh Allen is a legit NFL MVP candidate. James Cook is having another strong season. Amari Cooper, Khalil Shakir, rookie Keon Coleman, and tight ends Dalton Kincaid and Dawson Knox are rapidly becoming one of the league’s best receiving units. The defense has improved immensely in recent weeks and will only get better with the return of Von Miller.
So, again, the Bills are in great shape as they head into their Week 9 matchup with the Miami Dolphins
That said, however, Buffalo may still look to improve its roster ahead of Tuesday’s trade deadline. They obviously already did so with the acquisition of Cooper a couple of weeks back, and while another move likely wouldn’t be as big, there are still some intriguing candidates out there, which is where we’ll kick things off.
Raiders linebacker could be a Bills trade target
While the Buffalo defense has held opponents to only 18.2 points per game, it’s also given up quite a bit of yardage on a weekly basis, allowing 208.1 passing yards and 120.2 rushing yards per game.
Overall, the Bills need more help against the run than they do against the pass. That’s not to say some upgrades in the secondary wouldn’t be welcomed, but getting some assistance to stop the run is a more pressing need at this point.
And longtime Sporting News NFL writer Vinnie Iyer thinks Las Vegas Raiders linebacker Robert Spillane could be the answer.
“The Bills have been hurting without Matt Milano (bicep) on the second level, and Terrel Bernard (ankle) has suffered multiple injuries, Iyer wrote. “Spillane can clean up that mess for Sean McDermott.”
This move makes sense on pretty much every level. While there is hope that Milano can return this season, that’s not a guarantee. And even if he does, adding a veteran like Spillane just gives Buffalo more depth, which is never a bad thing.
The Bills wouldn’t want to rely on him in pass coverage, as his Pro Football Focus grade in that regard is a dismal 47.0. Against the run, however, Spillane, who’s tied for the fourth-most tackles in the league with 79, has a run-defense grade of 84.9, which is fantastic.
The financials work as well. Spillane is in the final season of the two-year contract he signed with Las Vegas ahead of last season and had a cap hit of just $5.3 million this season. The Bills wouldn’t be on the hook for all of that, and he’d likely only cost Buffalo a Day 3 draft pick. This is undoubtedly worth considering.
Veteran safety Mike Edwards reportedly wants out of Buffalo
On the flip side of things, if the Bills are looking to ship someone out of town ahead of the trade deadline, it seems as if sixth-year safety Mike Edwards could be an option.
According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, Edwards, who won a Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers four seasons ago and another with the Kansas City Chiefs last year, wants out of Buffalo.
“Veteran Buffalo safety Mike Edwards is available and would like to go somewhere he can play (he has been a steady inactive),” Fowler wrote.
Signed this past offseason to help offset the losses of Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde, Edwards simply hasn’t been a big part of the Buffalo defense. He’s appeared in just three games and has made only one tackle, that coming in the Bills’ Week 5 loss to the Houston Texans.
Once projected as a starter, Edwards dealt with various injuries during spring practice and training camp and ultimately lost out to Damar Hamlin and Taylor Rapp. It’ll be interesting to see if the Bills can find a buyer before Tuesday.
Bills owner Terry Pegula may be selling a portion of the team
An off-the-field rumor circulating this week is that Bills owner Terry Pegula may be looking to sell off a portion of the franchise.
Per Bloomberg News, Pegula has been in talks with private equity firm Arctos Partners to “acquire a minority stake” in the Bills.
The report claimed that no deal has been struck as of yet and that it’s possible that “another suitor, or suitors, could emerge.”
Again, this has nothing to do with the on-field product, but it’s certainly worth keeping an eye on.