After a whirlwind in January that included the firing of Sean McDermott and hiring of Joe Brady as the next head coach, the Buffalo Bills can now turn the page and focus on the offseason that includes free agency and the draft. Brady has been putting a great staff together, and now all of the attention turns towards Brandon Beane. He has a great amount of pressure to deliver a great offseason for the Bills.
However, while fans are looking forward to seeing what players the Bills bring in, there are going to be some current players that may have played their last down as a Bill. One of those players is a fan-favorite in Matt Milano, who has been with the Bills since 2017.
In last year’s offseason, the Bills restructured Milano’s deal to where he would become a free agent after the 2025 season. With him dealing with a ton of injuries over the past few seasons, it makes sense why he entered a contract year this past season.
If the Bills decide that it’s time to go in a different direction with Milano, there is a replacement that the Bills could trade for.
Bills could replace Matt Milano by trading for Saints' LB Pete Werner
Alex Ballentine from Bleacher Report put together a list of trade targets for each team, and one of the players that was listed as one that the Bills could trade for. Also listed was WRs A.J. Brown and Brandon Aiyuk, which is no surprise considering that the Bills desperately need a receiver.
"Replacing Matt Milano could be on the agenda this offseason. Pete Werner's role in New Orleans shrank this season, but he's still the kind of athletic 'backer who could help the Bills." said Ballentine.
The Saints extended Werner in 2024, but the Saints are in a bit of a rebuild despite having a hopeful franchise quarterback in Tyler Shough. At the same time, if the Saints are willing to deal Werner to get more draft picks, he would be a solid addition to the Bills that takes care of the Milano replacement.
Werner appeared in all 17 games this past season and finished with 81 total tackles that included 2 sacks. He can be that sideline-to-sideline playmaker that Milano was for a very long time. At 26 years old, that easily takes care of a key position and the Bills wouldn’t need to spend a high pick on a linebacker.