By Nick Wojton / Billswire.usatoday.com
After falling to the Indianapolis Colts in Week 7, the football analytics folks at FiveThirtyEight gave the Buffalo Bills a four-percent chance at cracking the postseason in 2018.
Making that four percent look even more of a lofty goal is the Bills’ next opponent. On Monday Night Football in Week 8 Buffalo will host the New England Patriots (5-2).
The following day on Oct. 30 is the trade deadline. Buffalo general manager Brandon Beane and head coach Sean McDermott haven’t been afraid to swing trades in their time with the organization, so Monday could be the final time several players suit up for the Bills, especially if they can’t upset the Patriots.
With that, here are six players that the Bills could consider moving at this year’s trade deadline:
RB LeSean McCoy
Buffalo’s offense hasn’t done much this season and neither has LeSean McCoy, but the running back has flashed enough to make observers think he’s still got it. With an average-at-best offensive line in front of him and an abysmal passing game complementing him, it’s easy to see why McCoy hasn’t had much success this year. The Bills also get behind quickly in games so they have to abandon the run game.
At 30 and with only one more year left on his contract, McCoy would be a prime trade candidate to a team looking to add a dynamic weapon in their backfield to support a passing game. The Philadelphia Eagles, McCoy’s former team, were reportedly interested in bringing him back. Of the team’s trade assets heading into the deadline, McCoy would undoubtedly fetch the Bills the biggest return.
DE Shaq Lawson
Shaq Lawson is a solid defensive end against the run, where he leaves something to be desired is against the pass. As a former first-round pick of the Bills in 2016, Lawson was selected with the hope that he’d become an elite pass rusher, not an elite run stopper. Lawson, in only 26 career games played due to injury over three seasons, only has seven sacks in his career including one this season. That’s caused many to consider Lawson a bust of a first-round pick.
In addition, Lawson was not drafted during McDermott’s tenure. Many players who were drafted by former GM Doug Whaley have been shipped out of Buffalo. Of Whaley’s picks, only Lawson and offensive lineman John Miller remain. But there’s still a case to be made that McDermott wants Lawson around because of the heavy rotation his defense employs along the defensive line.
DT Kyle Williams/ LB Lorenzo Alexander
Alright, here’s the one where some folks will be non-too-happy with this list. In both cases it’d be a business decision. Both Kyle Williams and Lorenzo Alexander are beloved by the fan base. Williams even recently admitted to the team’s radio station that he could have gone to other places in his career but didn’t want to because he wanted to be in Buffalo.
However, both Williams and Alexander are 35. There’s a good chance that 2018 is their final seasons. With that in mind, both are actually producing, too. Williams has 3.5 sacks while Alexander has 2.5 and five passes defended. The Bills could likely fetch something for both players. In the case of Williams, no one would want to see him in another team’s uniform after 13 season in Buffalo, but no one would fault him or the team for sending him to a contender. That team would instantly become western New York’s second-favorite team for the rest of the 2018 season.
And it wouldn’t taint his Bills’ legacy in the slightest. Just ask Thurman Thomas, the guy who’s having his number retired by the team at halftime of Monday’s game against the Pats if playing for the Miami Dolphins ever did that to him.
WR Kelvin Benjamin
With the hardest one to imagine out of the way, here’s the one that most fans seem to hope for.
At last year’s trade deadline, expectations and excitement was high for Benjamin’s arrival when Buffalo nabbed him from the Carolina Panthers for a pair of draft picks. Since then, Benjamin has only made 30 catches for 434 yards and two touchdowns as the team’s No. 1 wide receiver in 13 games played. Not only is he a guy who’s production and effort has been brought into question, some Bills observers question how much he really wants to be with the team moving forward. He’s also had some off-field drama.
Benjamin, who’s currently in the final year of his contract, could be a rental player for a team trying to add a No. 2 wide receiver since he’s showed he’s not a reliable No. 1. The Dallas Cowboys reportedly were interested in Benjamin to a degree last week, however, the Cowboys traded for wideout Amari Cooper in a deal instead.
TE Charles Clay
The curious case of Charles Clay. In years past, the Bills haven’t had much of a passing game, especially during Clay’s career. Still, for the standards that the Bills have employed, Clay typically ranks near the top of Buffalo’s passing charts in yards and receptions every season he’s been with the team.
The nugget that makes one think Clay could be moved is similar to Lawson’s, he was brought in via free agency by Whaley. Outside of that, there’s little reason to think McDermott and Beane would move him. He’s a player that quietly goes about his production and as a tight end, he’s not a guy who’s a stranger to blocking. A ‘process’ type of guy, if you will.