By Nick Wojton / Billswire.usatoday.com
Since Brandon Beane’s first offseason as the general manager of the Buffalo Bills, he hasn’t been shy about making trades.
Sammy Watkins, Kelvin Benjamin, Ronald Darby, Marcell Dareus and more have all been part of deals under the Beane and Sean McDermott regime.
With more than $80 million in salary cap space, the third-most in the NFL, many speculate plenty of action via free agency for the Bills. But trades are just as much of an option as well.
With that, here are 12 players that the Bills could target via trade during the 2019 offseason:
WR AJ Green | Cincinnati Bengals
Green is a player that’s been linked to approximately zero trade rumors. However, there’s a case to be made that he’s expendable for the Bengals. First, he’s going to be 31 next season. Green can still make an impact, but the Bengals have gone eight seasons with him on their roster and while he’s made the Pro Bowl in seven of those, perhaps they could go in another direction.
Why would Cincy go in another direction? Well, they have a new coach for the first time in nearly two decades as Marvin Lewis was replaced by Zac Taylor. Plus, Tyler Boyd is looking like he’s turning into a No. 1 receiver. Green also only has one more year left on his contract so if the price is right, he’d be a nice addition to a young WR room for the Bills.
WR Antonio Brown | Pittsburgh Steelers
Brown would certainly be a huge pickup for any team, especially the Bills. If Buffalo grabbed him, they’d have national attention on them once again, like when they hired Rex Ryan or traded for LeSean McCoy. There are legitimate concerns about acquiring him, though.
His off-field situations are well known and his cap hit is massive for the next three seasons, near $22 million, $18 million and $19 million, respectively. Still, there are plenty of reasons to bring him in, too. Buffalo needs a No. 1 target for Josh Allen and you won’t find a better option than a four-time All-Pro and two-time NFL yards and receptions single-season leader.
TE Jimmy Graham | Green Bay Packers
Graham could be a low risk, high reward deal for the Bills if they want to upgrade to a more dynamic player at the tight end position than Charles Clay. Recent reports indicate that new Packers coach Matt LaFleur wants to keep Graham around, but overall, Graham underwhelmed last season. After catching 10 touchdowns in 2017, he only caught two with Aaron Rodgers last year.
Worth noting is Graham’s injuries last year, but could he benefit from a change of scenery even after just one season in Green Bay? The Packers could also want to unload his contract. He’s due a $5 million roster bonus and has a big $12 million cap hit in 2019, but has a cut-friendly out if the Bills or Packers decided to cut him during the 2020 offseason. Despite only catching two scores last year, the nine-year pro still had 55 catches for 636 yards. That blows away Charles Clay’s 21 catch, 184 yard, zero touchdown campaign of 2018.
OT Donald Penn | Oakland Raiders
Penn has consistently been a solid offensive tackle, but you know the Raiders. At 35, Penn isn’t going to get any younger and Jon Gruden could move on from him. Plus, Oakland selected Kolton Miller to be their left tackle of the future which bumped Penn over to the right side of the offensive line before his season ended in Week 4. Despite his age and injury, Penn played in at least 14 games for 11-straight seasons prior to last year, 10 of which were full 16-game seasons.
The Bills need to and will make moves along the offensive line during the 2019 offseason. With 10 draft picks, Buffalo could ship Oakland a pick for a veteran to plug into their young offensive line with Dion Dawkins, Wyatt Teller, and any potential future rookies for one season at a reasonable $7.6 million cap hit.
DT Vernon Butler | Carolina Panthers
The moment you’ve all been waiting for: a potential addition from the Panthers. While a bit of a running joke that the Bills are “Carolina North” with all their acquisitions of former Panthers’ players or coaches, it’s a true thing to take into consideration. Butler could actually make some sense, too.
The former first-round pick in 2016 is in a rotation on the Panthers’ D-line. He’d do the same in Buffalo, but the Bills would likely make him first in the rotation, not set him behind Dontari Poe and Kawaan Short like he is in Carolina. His resume with only two sacks in three seasons isn’t fantastic, but he’s entering the final year of his rookie deal so he’s young and maybe Sean McDermott can unlock that potential from the 6-foot-4, 330 pounder. He’d slid right into Kyle Williams’ former spot as the three-tech tackle.
TE Jack Doyle | Indianapolis Colts
Eric Ebron was viewed as an essential bust for four seasons. Then he signed with the Colts and put up 13 touchdowns in 16 games in 2018. Not bad. Could his successes make Doyle expendable, though? Doyle never put up a scoring season like Ebron, but he’s been a steady target that could land that Colts a pick from a team, such as the Bills, who could want to upgrade at the position.
If the Bills went with Doyle as that upgrade to Charles Clay, they’d acquire a guy with a similar skill set. He’s an all-around tight end that’s a solid blocker and can catch. Most would likely want the Bills to enter the modern day tight end discussion though, and upgrading to more of a playmaker for Josh Allen. Doyle’s entering the final year of his contract as well.
OL Kevin Zeitler | Cleveland Browns
According to Cleveland.com, the Browns could be looking to move Zeitler despite being the No. 6 guard in Pro Football Focus’ 2018 grades. Deitler’s contract is massive with a $12.4-14.4 million hit over the next three seasons. That, plus the Cleveland.com report indicates that the Browns want to get 2018 second-round pick Austin Corbett onto the field. Cap hit aside, Zeitler could be worth it. Per PFF, he had a pass-blocking grade of 91.8 last season which was the NFL’s best. In addition, if Buffalo’s become strapped against the cap themselves in 2021 during the final year of his contract, his dead cap his drops from $10.7 million next season to only $2.4.
OT La’el Collins | Dallas Cowboys
Collins has a bit of an off-field history prior to being drafted, but he could still be an upgrade for the Bills. His career hasn’t gone great, as he never cracked a 70.0 overall grade via PFF’s analytics in his career and his 22 total QB pressures allowed were 17th-most in the NFL among offensive lineman in 2018. Plus, he takes penalties. With those negatives in mind, the Bills might not have to overpay for him via a trade since he only has one year left on his contract at $10 million for the season. Despite those potentially poor grades, he’s still a young player at 24 and could develop so maybe a change of scenery will help.
WR Laquon Treadwell | Minnesota Vikings
Treadwell is young and reads as someone who needs a change of scenery or just a new home with an opportunity. The former 2016 first-round pick was a healthy scratch at one point last year and is stuck behind two 1,000-yard options in Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs with the Vikings.
Treadwell isn’t the speedy type of receiver Buffalo could want to add, but he has strong college experience and could be a big-bodied target (6-foot-2, 210 pounds) for Josh Allen. This also might be a low risk, high reward type deal. Can’t imagine a team giving up much for a disappointing first rounder.
DT Gerald McCoy | Tampa Bay Buccaneers
McCoy is 30 and viewed as a dominant pass rusher from the interior of the defensive line. Kyle Williams will need replacing and if it’s not internally, McCoy could be an option. In nine seasons he has 54.5 sacks and 140 QB hits and isn’t shy in defending the run, either. But the Bills have Star Lotulelei for that as well. So if McCoy’s still pretty good, why would the Bucs get rid of him? Salary cap, of course. McCoy has a $13 million cap hit the next three seasons and the Bucs have $7 million in space to currently work with.
McCoy has zero dead cap hits over the next three seasons and over the next two years, the Bills have tons of cap space to fit him. But that Bills would be committing a lot of cap to the middle of the defensive line with McCoy and Lotulelei, who carries a $10-11 million hit over the next four seasons as well.
TE Cameron Brate | Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The reasoning for Brate is the same as McCoy. Have to have cap space to spend cap space. If the Bucs are looking for cap space to upgrade their poor defense, Brate, like McCoy, doesn’t have a dead cap hit over the next four years of his contact which has him making $6-7 million each year. Plus, OJ Howard is in the fold, so without Brate, the Bucs would still have a No. 1 option at the tight end position.
Brate didn’t have outstanding production last season, but he’s two years removed from a 57 catch, 660 yards and eight touchdown season. Bit more offensive production than Charles Clay. The last two seasons Brate production dropped, the only two seasons Howard has spent in the NFL.
OL Andrus Peat | New Orleans Saints
Like their NFC South division rivals in the Bucs, the Saints are also tight against the salary cap this offseason at $9 million in cap room. A former first-round pick, Peat’s viewed, at best, a good offensive lineman. Nothing spectacular. That’s still an upgrade for the Bills who ranked near the bottom of most rankings, including a No. 26 overall placement in Pro Football Focus’ end of season offensive line rankings.
Overall, PFF ranked Peat as the 77th best guard in the NFL in 2018, but here’s where it gets tricky for the Saints. He’s slated to make $9 million next season after they picked up his fifth-year option as an average OL and getting rid of him would double their cap space. Buffalo could handle his $9 million for one season and if they like what they see, could try to sign him to a more team-friendly deal with his second contract.