The Buffalo Bills seemed poised to make a move at the trade deadline. General manager Brandon Beane has been aggressive in the past before the deadline and this year was no different as they agreed to a deal with the Green Bay Packers for cornerback Rasul Douglas.
The trade would end up resulting in the Bills sending the Packers a 2024 3rd round pick while receiving Douglas and a 2024 5th round pick in return.
These are five takeaways from that move by the Buffalo Bills as well as some notable moves that didn't happen.
Buffalo Bills were focused on the cornerback position
The Buffalo Bills lost Tre'Davious White in Week 4 due to an Achilles injury for the rest of the 2023 season. Since that game, the Bills also saw Dane Jackson and Christian Benford each miss at least one game.
The Bills would bring in free agent Josh Norman to help solidify the depth but they were clearly focused on this one position during the NFL trade deadline. According to Jordan Schultz, Douglas was not the only cornerback they were pursuing and reportedly made an aggressive attempt to trade for Bears' cornerback Jaylon Johnson.
It makes sense that the Buffalo Bills would focus on this position as they have games coming up on the schedule against some good passing offenses like the Eagles, Chiefs, Cowboys, and Chargers. The hope would be that he would be ready for Sunday's game against the Bengals but it might be wishful thinking at this point.
Christian Benford and Dane Jackson fighting for their starting job
The addition of Rasul Douglas has now put Christian Benford and Dane Jackson on notice as Douglas will likely replace one of these two in the starting lineups in the next few weeks. This is not anything new for either cornerback as they had to compete during training camp, alongside Kaiir Elam, for that starting cornerback position opposite Tre'Davious White.
Christian Benford would ultimately win the position battle entering the 2023 season and has played pretty well this season. That means the pressure is likely more on Dane Jackson but the coaching staff is going to be re-evaluating and neither is locked in as the starter.
The Buffalo Bills on Sunday night are going to be tested against a Bengals offense that includes Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Tyler Boyd. It may not be the final decision but the performance of these two cornerbacks probably will heavily factor into what the position looks like moving forward.
Buffalo Bills didn't feel the need to give away Kaiir Elam but unlikely to make an impact this season
While the Buffalo Bills were expected to be buyers, one player that appeared to be available was cornerback Kaiir Elam. The former first round pick has been a healthy scratch in five of the eight games this season and only was active when the Bills were dealing with injuries.
According to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, Kaiir Elam was garnering trade interest and it made some sense for the Buffalo Bills to explore a trade. It would create a roster spot for the Bills for any players they traded for and would allow them to get some compensation back while Elam still has a few years on his rookie contract.
It seems like the Bills still believe Elam can help but it might not mean this year. The team has now added another cornerback that almost guarantees that he will remain a healthy scratch on a weekly basis unless the team suffers another injury at the position.
Bills pay steep price but improve position
The Buffalo Bills clearly felt the need to improve the cornerback position and they definitely did that with the addition of Rasul Douglas. He is a great fit in this defense and excels in zone coverage as well as forcing turnovers with 10 in the past three seasons.
However, the Bills would have to trade away a third round pick to acquire Rasul Douglas. This may not seem like much but when considering the 49ers traded a third round pick for Chase Young, it does seem like a lot for a cornerback.
The good news is that the Buffalo Bills did get a fifth round pick back and now have six Day 3 picks. The Bills probably also expect to get a third round compensatory pick after losing Tremaine Edmunds so this may be why they were comfortable giving up that pick. However when looking at the other trades made before the deadline, it seems like a lot.
Buffalo Bills only team in AFC East to improve at trade deadline
The Buffalo Bills are currently second in the AFC East behind the Miami Dolphins by one game but only one game ahead of the New York Jets and two games ahead of the New England Patriots. The race in the AFC East should be pretty tight for the remainder of the season.
With that in mind, it was good news that the Bills were the only team to make a notable move at the trade deadline. In the weeks leading up to the trade deadline, the Dolphins did trade for Chase Claypool and the Patriots brought back cornerback J.C. Jackson.
Meanwhile, the Jets would trade away Mecole Hardman to the Kansas City Chiefs.
The focus for the Buffalo Bills for the second half of the 2023 season is to win their fourth straight AFC East title and on Tuesday, they certainly helped their chances with the move they made.