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Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports is reporting, citing multiple league sources, that the Buffalo Bills are "pursuing" a trade for St. Louis Rams quarterback Sam Bradford.
According to Getlin, Bills head coach Rex Ryan and offensive coordinator Greg Roman are not sold on EJ Manuel as the team’s starter next season, and are looking for a quarterback that can "maximize the value" of young wide receivers Sammy Watkins and Robert Woods. Bradford, conceivably, fits that bill.
Vic Carucci of The Buffalo News, however, quickly reported the exact opposite regarding the Bills and Bradford, citing a Bills team source. So that's out there, if you're disinclined to buy what Yahoo! is selling (or if you're inclined to believe that Bradford's agent is simply blowing smoke to increase contract negotiating leverage).
Hearing the #Bills are not pursuing #Rams QB Sam Bradford, as being reported, from a source in the know.
— Vic Carucci (@viccarucci) February 24, 2015
Last week, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reported that Bradford had requested (and been granted) permission to seek a trade from the Rams - a report that Rams GM Les Snead and head coach Jeff Fisher quickly denied. Quick denials seem to be the way things work with the Rams and Bradford this offseason, because the Rams have already denied this report (through ESPN's Mike Rodak), as well.
Rams tell me that there is no merit to report that Bills are pursuing trade with QB Sam Bradford.
— Mike Rodak (@mikerodak) February 24, 2015
Desire is one thing (if it does, in fact, exist; let's assume, for the sake of the rest of this paragraph, that it does), but as Getlin points out, actually pulling off the trade might be another matter entirely. The Bills are already down first- and fourth-round picks in the 2015 NFL Draft thanks to last year’s trade for Watkins, and they may not have the ammo to pull off a deal for Bradford - especially if other teams are involved in whatever bidding may or may not be happening.
Bradford, who will turn 28 in November, is entering his sixth NFL season having played in just seven games, combined, in the 2013 and 2014 seasons. The former No. 1 overall pick sports a record of 18-30-1 as a pro starter, and is set to earn nearly $13 million in base salary in the final year of his rookie deal. If traded, St. Louis would take on nearly $3.6 million of his $16.6 million cap hit in 2015, but the Bills would still be on the hook for that massive salary. If they're interested and looking into it, that is.