Losman's future may be decided over draft weekend (BuffaloBills.com)

Earlier this week, reports surfaced that the Buffalo Bills had made the decision to keep quarterback J.P. Losman, who earlier this off-season had requested a trade out of Buffalo after losing his starting job to rookie Trent Edwards. The reports were based on COO Russ Brandon's comments at the team's annual pre-draft luncheon; it is now becoming clear that while these reports were not erroneous, they may have been misled.

Mid-to-late April is routinely a time in which NFL executives league-wide are keeping team news very close to the vest. Interviews this time of the year are generally canned responses, incredibly generic overviews of the draft process, and not-so-veiled attempts at avoiding questions. Brandon's short answer, in which he merely stated that Losman was still a part of this Bills franchise, may have been an example of these truthful-escape answers typical of this time of year.

Pro Football Weekly is now reporting that they've heard whispers that Losman is still available via trade, likely with a third or fourth round pick as the asking price, and the team would still like to move the signal-caller over draft weekend. Whether or not that happens is another question entirely, but it seems likely at this point that if the Bills get a fair offer for Losman's services, they'll honor his trade request. I don't expect that offer to come, but if it does, it wouldn't be shocking at all to see the Bills pull the trigger.

People... Russ Brandon Isn't Picking.
I've been bothered this week by reports such as this, discussing the meaning of Russ Brandon's first draft after his big promotion. Yes, Brandon's role of COO means that he'll have a much more prominent role in this year's draft process. But in Buffalo, that means very little.

The "consensus" style that the Bills' front office has employed for the last two years has been discussed so often that it's almost cliche at this point. But Brandon's opinion - again, valued more highly than in past seasons - is only one of dozens that will be sought in the team's war room next weekend. Every Bills coach will have input, and as we discussed last week, the final decisions will be made by VP of College Scouting Tom Modrak and head coach Dick Jauron.

I'm as curious to see what happens with this franchise with Brandon in charge as well. But that scope does not reach far enough into pro and college personnel matters to pin the success or failure of this team's on-field performance on Brandon. He's an orchestrator, not a decision-maker. So keep that in mind before you start to rip Brandon, as will inevitably happen over the next year. He's not as involved as local media make him seem to be, though he is involved to an extent.