It’s been a little bit of a rough first two days for Buffalo Bills fans that were hoping for a splash once the legal tampering period in the NFL opened up on Monday. The Bills have made moves, but just simple ones. Prior to the period opening up, the Bills did trade for wide receiver D.J. Moore but since then, they haven’t made any other big time additions.
They are bringing in CB Dee Alford and QB Kyle Allen, while also re-signing punter Mitch Wishnowsky and extending Dawson Knox. Other than that, the Bills haven’t done anything to add to their team. One free agent that a lot of fans were thinking the Bills would heavily pursue was linebacker Leo Chenal, who played under Jim Leonhard at the University of Wisconsin.
Now, that won’t be a possibility as Jordan Schultz reported that Chenal is heading to the Washington Commanders on a three-year deal for over $24 million. With the connection to Leonhard, Chenal would have been a great fit for Buffalo but he will head to the NFC East instead.
Sources: Former #Chiefs LB Leo Chenal is signing with the #Commanders for 3 years $24.75M.
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) March 10, 2026
Chenal, just 25, won two Super Bowls in Kansas City and was a starter for 44 games. A strong addition. pic.twitter.com/QgwOtreuiM
Bills caught sleeping with letting Leo Chenal get away
As an off-ball linebacker, Chenal would have been the perfect Matt Milano replacement. Not to mention, coming from the Chiefs would have been an extra strength that Buffalo could have gained. While he wasn’t a full-time starter in Kansas City, he is bound to be one in Washington and he would have easily been one in Buffalo.
The Bills are losing out on a good amount of free agent options and it’s getting very frustrating for fans. Buffalo has a lot of roster holes and they can’t just go through the draft and hope that rookies can make an immediate impact. With having a quarterback like Josh Allen in his prime, the Bills have to fill out their roster if they want to remain as true Super Bowl contenders.
While the wide reciever position started off strong with the Moore acquisition, there is still work to do there and the defense needs plenty of playmakers as a lot of them like Matt Milano, Joey Bosa, and Tre'Davious White all had expiring contracts with the Bills.
Brandon Beane has to eventually make a couple of key signings otherwise the criticism that he has faced for many years now will just continue. With a new look on defense coming, the Bills need playmakers and right now, they are losing out on them including Chenal.