When the Arizona Cardinals released Michael Floyd following a DUI arrest, it didn’t take long for a team to snatch him up.
Unfortunately, that team wasn’t the Buffalo Bills, who have struggled finding a quality wide receiver for quite some time.
Some smarter decisions in recent drafts and free agency periods could’ve easily solved this issue, but we just can’t seem to find the right talent to thrive within our offense. With a huge opportunity to finally get some reliable receivers this offseason, the Buffalo Bills will need to pay high attention to detail to make it happen.
Although the offseason hasn’t started yet, the Buffalo Bills have already gotten to a bad start in their search for a wide receiver. Last Wednesday, the Arizona Cardinals announced the release of Michael Floyd, a reliable receiver in their offense for the past five years. It came just one day after he was arrested for driving under the influence and disobeying a police officer.
Floyd has been an awesome compliment to Larry Fitzgerald for the past five seasons, since the Cardinals drafted Floyd in the first round of the 2012 draft. In his rookie year, he caught 45 passes for 562 yards and 2 TD. He followed that up with 65 catches, 1,041 yards and 5 TD in his second year.
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His next two seasons with Arizona were fairly similar. In 2014, he finished with 47 catches, 841 yards and 6 TD. In 2015, he totaled 52 catches, 849 yards and 6 TD. In 13 games this season, he piled up 33 catches for 446 yards and 4 TD. His numbers were down this season before his arrest, but that doesn’t mean he can’t still be a top receiver in this league.
The thing that should’ve enticed the Buffalo Bills even more was the fact that he had only missed one game in his career, before his arrest.
Shortly after releasing him, Arizona Cardinals’ President — Michael Bidwell — spoke out about the situation:
“He certainly could’ve played it a lot differently. We wanted to give him an opportunity to address his issues. How this whole set of circumstances (unfolded), I was just disappointed about how it played out,” said Michael Bidwell.
Unfortunately, the Buffalo Bills missed out on an opportunity to give Floyd a second chance and instead allowed the New England Patriots to add him to their roster. The Patriots could use him due to injuries, but they also have a solid receiving corps as it is. The Bills could’ve used him more.
Although he didn’t play in the Patriots’ victory over the Denver Broncos, he did travel with the team and could see some time with the team this season. Here’s what Robert Kraft — Patriots’ President — had to say about the pickup:
"“This was a unique (situation) because you don’t usually see someone get cut this late in the season who has the type of ability he does but is also at the end of a contract, as well. Any time Bill (Belichick) thinks about bringing someone into the organization, he measures whether there’s going to be an advantage to our football team or not. In this case, Bill thinks it is worth bringing him in, so he’s here.”"
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Needless to say, he is still an unrestricted free agent after this season and will draw plenty of interest from around the league. The Buffalo Bills should be one of those teams. We could potentially have the money for him and he would immediately help this team move the ball through the air.
Keep your eyes out for Michael Floyd this offseason. He could be a missing piece for this team. He also had 65 yards on 4 catches vs. the Bills this season — Week 3.
Would you like to see Michael Floyd suit up for the Buffalo Bills next season?