The Buffalo Bills made two trades on Tuesday with the big news being the addition of running back Nyheim Hines. However, the trade for Dean Marlowe could have a big impact on the team down the stretch in the regular season and into the playoffs.
The Bills would trade their seventh round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft to the Atlanta Falcons for Dean Marlowe. He appeared in eight games for the Falcons this season with one start but primarily played on special teams.
Prior to joining the Falcons, Marlowe was with the Lions and during his time in Detroit he started nine games at safety and finished with a career-high in tackles with 67.
The reason this trade was an excellent move by the Buffalo Bills is before his stop in Detroit, Dean Marlowe spent roughly his first six years in the league in Sean McDermott’s defense between his time with the Carolina Panthers and Buffalo Bills.
This experience will be invaluable for a player joining the team midseason. There shouldn’t be much of a learning curve for Marlowe and he should be able to contribute right away.
The question is what that contribution might look like as he could be a potential replacement for Damar Hamlin. He has been the starter in place of Micah Hyde this season and has been up and down with his performance to this point.
However, even if he doesn’t get the starting job Marlowe could be valuable to the special teams unit. In his final season with Buffalo in 2020, he played over 50% of the special teams snaps and 215 snaps in total on special teams.
Grade for the Buffalo Bills trade for Dean Marlowe: A
For the Buffalo Bills to add a player that can have an impact in a number of different ways for only a seventh round pick is a great deal for this team. It gives them stability at the safety position but also boosts the special teams and he should have a role for the rest of the season for the Buffalo Bills.
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