After the trade deadline ended without any upgrades, Bills GM Brandon Beane expressed his frustrations to reporters, saying, “I went home saying, ‘Here’s what we did.’ I’m just as angry as the other fans.”
Buffalo was relatively quiet during the trade deadline on Tuesday, though it wasn’t entirely by choice. The team reportedly attempted to acquire both Quinnen Williams from the Jets and Jaylen Waddle from the Dolphins, but neither deal materialized.
“Unfortunately, it takes two people to tango, and we tried on quite a few,” Beane stated this week, according to ESPN. “A lot of it was, yeah, we’re not moving, and some of the things we ran into were that teams in our division were making trades while we didn’t see much interest coming our way.”
This past weekend showcased further challenges for Beane. Reports from NFL Network indicated that the Bills had entered the bidding for Williams but ultimately lost out. The Jets traded their star defensive tackle to the Cowboys in exchange for a 2026 second-round pick, a 2027 first-round pick, and defensive tackle Maji Smith.
It’s not entirely clear what the Bills offered Williams, but it’s reasonable to think that the Jets would hesitate to aid their competitors in chasing a sixth consecutive AFC East title.
The Bills might have sought more aggressively to obtain Waddle. According to NFL Network, their package was reportedly the most substantial for the receiver, who plays for the struggling Dolphins.
Beane’s proposal was said to include a 2027 first-round pick and a 2026 third-round pick for Waddle, who could provide an immediate boost for quarterback Josh Allen. However, the Dolphins were looking for a 2026 first-round pick, which ultimately didn’t happen. So, Waddle will continue to be a part of the Dolphins.
Overall, it seems the Bills didn’t anticipate major assistance from their division rivals—and they didn’t receive any.
