The NFL has tried it’s best to keep on turning as it always has despite the outside world having a couple other things going on at the moment. The Buffalo Bills have done their part with a host of rookies, free-agent additions and a major trade already in the books this year. But not everything the Bills touch can turn to gold. Let’s take a peek at the worst 2020 offseason moves.
Honorable Mentions
- Jake Fromm. I don’t think I need to explain the scenario. This one only merits an honorable mention as general manager Brandon Beane and his team would have been highly unlikely to stumble across a private conversation that had been withheld until recently. Based on that dilemma, the pick itself wouldn’t make the list. However, the team has for now decided to keep Fromm on the team. There are good reasons behind the decision, but there’s no way around the fact that it’s a controversial decision that could backfire.
- So many defensive linemen. The Buffalo Bills lost two prominent players on the defensive line when Shaq Lawson and Jordan Phillips were priced out of Buffalo’s vision. They added Vernon Butler, Quinton Jefferson, Mario Addison, and Bryan Cox Jr to the mix and Harrison Phillips should be returning. Why is this potentially a bad move? Head coach Sean McDermott and assistant head coach/defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier’s defense has a lot of moving parts when it comes to front-four substitutions. Most of these players will not only be learning the scheme but the coaching staff will be learning the players. With a shortened time to experiment, mix-and-match, and get things sorted it could create some issues.
Worst offseason move
This might be nitpicky, so please feel free to nominate your own worst offseason move but for me it’s gotta be doubling down on the cat scratch fever. If a single trend this year should shake fan confidence a bit, it should be the repeated addition of former Carolina Panthers.
The sheer number this year takes the Carolina connection from harmless jest to eye-popping reality. Former Panthers added to the Bills just this offseason include Josh Norman, A.J. Klein, Bryan Cox Jr., Vernon Butler, Mario Addison, and Daryl Williams. Toss in Eric Washington being added as the defensive line coach and it’s a long list of former cats.
It’s not that any of them are terrible or incompatible with team needs, mind you. It’s more the optics of always signing the familiar. A shortened season as mentioned above is a solid argument for finding guys that can quickly adapt. It doesn’t negate the possibility that the front office is in a bit of rut or worse yet, afraid to take a chance.
Going to the well too many times can come back and bite you, and that’s what makes the Carolina pipeline collectively the worst offseason move.