When you look back on what the Buffalo Bills did this offseason as far as the changes they went through, a lot of people didn’t expect a good amount of turnover when the 2025 season kicked off. The Bills are and have been contenders in the Josh Allen era, yet they haven’t made it to a Super Bowl which is part of the reason why Sean McDermott was fired in January.
Not long after McDermott was fired, the Bills went through their head coaching search and ultimately decided to make Joe Brady the next man to lead the team. With this coaching change, the Bills were bound to make some changes in the staff and there were. Pete Carmichael Jr. is now the offensive coordinator and Jim Leonhard was hired to be the next defensive coordinator.
Not only did the coaching staff change, but there was a shakeup in the roster. A lot of players from the McDermott era like Taron Johnson and Dane Jackson are no longer on the Bills. As of now, players like Matt Milano, Shaq Thompson (who played under McDermott in Buffalo and Carolina), and Tre’Davious White are still free agents.
This offseason was about building a new identity and that meant bringing in changes amongst the roster, and that the Bills did. Some of their notable additions included trading for D.J. Moore and signing players like Bradley Chubb, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, and Geno Stone. Buffalo also went heavy on defense again in the draft to build up the unit while also giving Josh Allen another valuable weapon in Skyler Bell.
Overall, Buffalo’s offseason may not have been the most inspiring but they made a great amount of change to fix the problems that they had been dealing with the last couple of seasons. However, their offseason moves aren’t getting exactly the best recognition despite all of their changes they went through in a short amount of time.
Recent report card grade ignores the true value of Bills' offseason
Brent Sobleski of Bleacher Report handed out updated report card grades for each team’s offseason up to this point, and Sobleski only gave the Bills a C+ which isn’t the worst by any means, but it certainly doesn’t show the impact that Buffalo made to their team.
Sobleski's take on the Bills acquiring D.J. Moore:
"To the Bills' credit, the organization did add DJ Moore via trade with the Chicago Bears. Is Moore's specific skill set what Buffalo needed at wide receiver? While that can be debated, the 29-year-old veteran will give Allen another viable threat to create after the catch." said Sobleski.
Buffalo had a huge need for wide receiver and rather than exploring the free agent market, they went out and traded for Moore who has experience in Joe Brady’s offense back in their days together with the Carolina Panthers. Not to mention, Moore was part of a Chicago offense where they loaded up on playmakers so Moore was put in a situation where his production was going to fall. That should change in Buffalo this coming season.
Sobleski's take on the Bills' defensive additions:
"Leonard brings a different philosophy, which will likely require some time to transition without all of the right pieces in place to fully integrate. The front remains suspect, but the Bills did sink six of their initial eight draft picks into defensive prospects. Veterans Bradley Chubb, Dee Alford, Geno Stone and Chauncey Gardner-Johnson signed as free agents as well." said Sobleski.
It may not be right away, but going from a McDermott defense to a Leonhard one should be a massive upgrade. There is more aggression and the point of Leonhard’s defense is all about attack and collapsing the pocket. McDermott’s defense played more to not lose rather than to win.
With Leonhard coming over from the Broncos, he was working closely with a secondary that was one of the best in the league so the secondary should remain solid. Now he will get the chance to work with pass rushers like Bradley Chubb, T.J. Parker, Greg Rousseau, Mike Danna, and Michael Hoecht.
Change can absolutely be scary, but it’s also necessary as well. The Bills kept failing with McDermott and eventually, change has to come. That time was now, and the Bills will be looking to show the rest of the NFL world that moving on from the previous era was the right decision.
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