Trades have already begun to come across the NFL’s transaction wire, though the Buffalo Bills haven’t joined the party just yet. Though, their opportunity to do so just took a drastic hit.
Since before the NFL’s in-season trade deadline, the Bills and Philadelphia Eagles veteran wide receivers have been a match-made pair. Buffalo needs an elite No. 1 wideout, and Brown seemed to be pushing his way out of Philly. A trade this offseason stands to make a good deal of sense for both parties, if the price is right.
Unfortunately for Buffalo, it doesn’t appear the price is remotely close to what Bills Mafia would have been comfortable with.
Buffalo Bills may pivot after latest update on Eagles WR A.J. Brown trade talks
According to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, the Eagles are looking for high compensation for their top wideout to be dealt in a trade, including a first-round pick.
“The asking price, for now, is high,” Breer wrote on Monday. “It sounds like the Eagles would want a first-round pick and another top-100 selection (similar to what the Packers got for Davante Adams in 2022), and that’s going to be too much for most, if not all, teams. Some of those teams, conversely, see Brown’s value as being closer to what the Bills got for Stefon Diggs from Houston in ’24 (a second-rounder, plus a Day 3 pick-swap that favored Buffalo).”
For what it’s worth, when the Packers traded Adams, he had just turned 30 years old. Brown turns 29 this summer. Whether Brown is in the same stratosphere now as Adams was three years ago is up for debate. Nonetheless, Bills Mafia isn’t going to be easy to convince that Brown is worth the same price as Adams in his prime.
All the same, it’s hard to see Brandon Beane giving up his first-round pick in this draft. He has a defense to build with a changing scheme, and his issues at receiver are deeper than just adding one marquee player.
Yes, it’s hard to find a proven No. 1 receiver without spending a first, but Brown’s situation in Philadelphia at least offered some hope that he could be had for a bargain. Now that that’s out the window, Beane is going to have to look in another direction to fill the void in Joe Brady’s offense out wide.
Luckily, there are still some promising options. Mike Evans may be long in the tooth, but he’s a steady receiver with championship experience. The Bills have also been linked to promising players on the younger side in Packers receiver Romeo Doubs and Rashid Shaheed, who won Super Bowl LX with the Seattle Seahawks.
Whether Beane goes with one of those players or pulls the trigger on a different trade, at the very least, it seems clear Brown is likely off the list of potential options for Buffalo this offseason.