The Buffalo Bills are 2-6 as they head into the NFL’s trade deadline. With their season over and the team planning for 2019, a few players should be on the trade block. Here are the most obvious candidates.
RB LeSean McCoy
McCoy is having a down year on a devastatingly bad offense with a poor run blocking offensive line. If he hasn’t asked for a trade, he would probably willingly accept one. Especially if he has a chance to return to the Philadelphia Eagles and contend for a championship, the 30-year-old running back has another season on his deal after 2019 if his new team wants to keep him. A fifth round or higher could get it done, especially if he isn’t in their plans for next season.
WR Kelvin Benjamin
Benjamin has just a half-season left on his rookie deal, but it’s hard to judge him in Buffalo’s offense. He had a great catch on Monday night and has shown flashes throughout the season but has been far from consistent. If they can find a team willing to part with a fifth rounder one season after they traded a third, they should pull the trigger immediately.
DE Shaq Lawson
A former first round pick, Lawson’s name was bandied about before the season as a potential trade piece. He responded and had a good preseason. Seven tackles and a sack with a forced fumble isn’t great, but he can be part of a defensive line rotation going forward. Especially if...
DE Jerry Hughes
Hughes has been a consistently good piece of Buffalo’s defense, and that drive up his trade value. He, too, is 30 with another year left on his deal and could make an impact for a contender to the point where they should be willing to give up an asset. He’s on pace to flirt with 10 sacks again in 2018 and they have big money invested in Trent Murphy on the other side.
TE Charles Clay
Not only does Clay always feel like he’s one hit away from being injured, his impact hasn’t been very big. If Buffalo wants to keep him around for the rest of the year to help their rookie QB, that’s fine. It’s also probable that the return wouldn’t be great enough for their loss and he stays on the team by default.
Other candidates
- FB Patrick DiMarco is adding nothing to the team, but who trades for that guy mid-season?
- Could Buffalo get anything in return for John Miller, Jordan Mills, or any of their other marginal NFL offensive linemen? Maybe a conditional future pick like they received for Marshall Newhouse earlier this year.
- Is a team desperate enough to trade for a linebacker with starting experience like Ramon Humber, who has permanently lost his job to Matt Milano?