As the new league year approaches with the start of free agency, the Buffalo Bills can begin focusing in on which veteran players from around the league can help the team get past its annual postseason blockade. For general manager Brandon Beane, the top of his priority list is solving the team’s issues at wide receiver.
Certainly, Bills fans don’t want to see Beane take another gamble on an unproven asset. The additions of Curtis Samuel and Joshua Palmer in each of the past two offseasons have not gone over well with Bills Mafia, nor helped the team in any meaningful capacity on the field.
To that end, Buffalo’s biggest need is finding a certifiable No. 1 wide receiver, which isn’t likely to come via a free agent signing. Considering the upcoming free agency class of receivers is lacking, Beane may be pointed toward the trading block to solve the team’s biggest offensive need. But that doesn’t mean he needs to ignore a forgotten player in the free agent class who can revive his career in Buffalo.
Marquise Brown offers Bills a smarter bet than Brandon Beane's past free agent swings
Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown is set to become a free agent as he isn’t expected to return to the franchise. Brown, who turns 29 this summer, isn’t a No. 1 receiver option for Buffalo, but he could help complement whoever Beane finds to fill that role as a deep-threat option for Josh Allen.
Brown went quiet in Kansas City’s offense over the past two seasons, though that was in part due to injuries, as he played in just two games in 2024. Last season, Brown caught 49 passes for 587 yards and five touchdowns. Not exactly a return to form for the first-rounder who last had a 1,000-yard season in Baltimore back in 2021.
Of course, pursuing Brown might mean letting veteran Brandin Cooks walk, as both players fill similar roles. Cooks played sparingly well at times late last season, but he’ll be 33 next season. Cooks’ last two combined seasons’ worth of production are on par with what Brown gave Kansas City in 2024. Naturally, there’s more future upside with Brown over Cooks.
Over The Cap valuation for Brown suggests he’s worth about $6.24 million per year this offseason, which would be cheaper than the $7 million he made in Kansas City each of the past two seasons. While Bills Mafia might cringe at signing another middling receiver to a multi-year deal, at least Brown has the kind of steady production Samuel and Palmer lacked.
Brown didn’t reach the heights many might have expected he could with Patrick Mahomes, so I’m not going to sell the idea of signing Brown as an opportunity for Allen to finally unlock the veteran’s potential. However, he’s a reliable veteran who has winning experience from his time in Baltimore and Kansas City, which could prove valuable to the Bills’ offense.
If Beane is going to dip his toe into the free agent pool of receivers, there aren’t many options who will garner much excitement, and rightfully, Brown can be counted among them, especially if he (or a receiver like him) were the only addition made before the NFL Draft. But, if he attacks the position from all angles, adding a No. 1 target via trade, targets a developmental piece in the draft, and signs a usable option like Brown, then Bills Mafia would no doubt feel much more confident about the position group overall.