As the NFL legal tampering period got started on Monday, we are still waiting for the Bills and general manager Brandon Beane to make an exciting move. As of this post, nothing.
All we have so far is Beane finally making an aggressive trade to land wide receiver D.J. Moore from the Chicago Bears last week and the under-the-radar signing of Falcons cornerback Dee Alford. On paper, the Buffalo Bills' fans should feel relieved that the receiver room has one more body sitting in it than all of last season.
We do, however, have some interesting details on moves that other teams made today that affect some of the team's former players.
With the recent acquisition of Moore's salary comes additional roster cuts the team has been working on to get under the league's salary cap.
Team aggressively cutting dead weight
Beane and the Bills released three players, signaling the end of the Sean McDermott era in Orchard Park. In no particular order, they said goodbye to Taylor Rapp, Curtis Samuel, and Dane Jackson. The Bills also traded Taron Johnson, along with a 7th-round pick, to the Las Vegas Raiders for a 6th-round pick.
All these players had to be released because they didn't fit the new vision of head coach Joe Brady and what Beane wants for this team.
Rapp had his moment in the 2023 season when he first arrived in Orchard Park, but over the last two seasons, he has had a different role, developing Cole Bishop as the team's new starting safety. Now that Rapp's services are no longer needed, he has been released. That could introduce 2025 draft pick Jordan Hancock to compete for the starting safety role in Jim Leonhard's new defensive scheme.
Beane brought in Samuel in the 2024 free agency class to reunite with then-offensive coordinator Brady, but he never really accomplished anything major in the offense. He was a fast, twitchy slot receiver, but also had a frail body, which kept him in and out of the lineup frequently.
Plus, with Moore on the roster, it meant someone had to go, and if it wasn't going to be Josh Palmer after a year on the team, it would be Samuel.
Jackson returned to the Bills on a one-year deal this past season, but, like Johnson, he would have had a hard time fitting into the new scheme.
Former Bills players who signed from other teams
Fullback Reggie Gilliam signed with the New England Patriots for a three-year, $12 million contract. Guard David Edwards signed a four-year, $61 million deal with the New Orleans Saints.
It's sad to see Gilliam go, but paying a fullback $4 million a year is way too much, especially when they can use that money to fill other needs, and maybe get a fullback for less in free agency.
As for Edwards, the Bills already signed Center Connor McGovern for 4 years, $52 million, so that meant Edwards was worth way too much to keep him over their center. Plus, they can plug in and play Sedrick Van Pran-Granger at guard while still on a rookie deal.
We will have to wait a little longer, Bills fan, to see if the brass steps up and grabs us some new players.