This offseason has featured a great amount of free agency moves and trades, and the Buffalo Bills have been involved with both. On the trade side of things, they have traded for wide receiver D.J. Moore from the Bears and traded away Taron Johnson to the Raiders. Getting Moore gives Josh Allen his true No. 1 receiver.
While the Bills should heavily benefit from having Moore, they attempted to trade within the division last season at the trade deadline to try and acquire Jaylen Waddle from the Miami Dolphins, per Tom Pelissero.
Blockbuster! The Dolphins are sending star WR Jaylen Waddle to the Broncos pending a physical, sources tell me and @RapSheet. pic.twitter.com/OzEVZM7sIN
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 17, 2026
The Bills had offered the Dolphins a first-round pick, but Miami didn’t want to trade within the division which made sense. However, the Dolphins just pulled off a trade to send Waddle to the Denver Broncos per Tom Pelissero.
The Dolphins are trading Waddle and a 2026 4th-round pick to Denver in exchange for a 1st-round pick (No. 30) as well as a 3rd and 4th-round pick in this year’s draft.
Broncos make the trade that Bills couldn't pull off last season
Up until this move, the Broncos did very little in free agency. They have retained some of their own players, but they didn’t acquire anyone via free agency from other teams. Now, they land Waddle to pair with Courtland Sutton.
It’s no surprise that the Dolphins ultimately wouldn’t trade Waddle to the Bills because that would have caused so much chaos in Miami. Trading their best receiver to a division rival that has had major success against them for years.
The Dolphins’ rebuild under their new regime continues on and they are looking to load up on draft picks. They will now have two first-round picks in next month’s draft. Teams that go into a rebuild will have an opportunity to build for the future, but they aren't expected to be competitive right away and if their draft picks don't hit, it will send the organization back even further.
So now, the Dolphins don’t have Waddle or Tyreek Hill while the Bills have gained D.J. Moore and there is hope that maybe Buffalo will continue to add to their wide receiver room. While it would have been a great sight to see Waddle in Bills blue (especially since they needed the WR help last season), Buffalo still lands a valuable wideout while Miami is now going deeper with their rebuild.