When all was said and done, the Buffalo Bills were window shoppers from the sideline as the 2025 NFL trade deadline passed. That doesn’t mean general manager Brandon Beane and One Bills Drive sat idle.
Reports and rumors leading up to the 4 p.m. EST deadline on November 4 had Buffalo in talks with the Washington Commanders for a pair of household names.
Were the Bills really trying to bring back edge rusher Von Miller? Was a potential deal in place for wide receiver Deebo Samuel? The merits of a reunion with the 36-year-old Miller can and will be debated in the days to come, but it’s easy to understand why Beane would make the call. Miller has scheme familiarity and was good for the locker room. He’d like have been quite a bit back on the depth chart as the fourth defensive lineman in the rotation behind Greg Rousseau, Joey Bosa, and A.J. Epenesa.
The real intrigue is their reported connection to Samuel. Now 29 years old, it’s an interesting check by Beane into a player who fits the mold of coveted X-factor in Buffalo’s offense. How he’d be utilized we may never know, but Samuel has done almost everything on offense in his NFL career.
Many fans had hoped the Bills were in on the likes of Brian Thomas Jr. (Jacksonville Jaguars), Jakobi Meyers (former Las Vegas Raiders; now Jaguars), or even Chris Olave (New Orleans Saints) and Rashid Shaeed (former Saints; now Seattle Seahawks). Some had wondered if the Miami Dolphins could be convinced to send wide receiver Jaylen Waddle north. But Connor Hughes reported that Miami was only parting ways with Waddle for a first-round draft pick and more.
There was even some 11th-hour pipe dreaming about prying wide receiver Garrett Wilson away in the mass exodus taking place inside the New York Jets’ organization. Per Dianna Russini, AFC East teams did reach out to the Jets, but Florham Parks football operations were “reluctant” to trade with their division rivals.
Buffalo even restructured the contract of nickel cornerback Taron Johnson to create salary cap space. That means the Bills now have a few million dollars in cap space, and their may still be roster moves made in days and weeks following the trade deadline. There is always the free-agent pool to dive back into, should the Bills have their eye on anyone.
Field Yates reported that with the trade deadline now in the past, “any player that is released by his team is now subject to the NFL’s waiver system. Previously, it was just players with less than 4 accrued seasons. Vested veterans will not be able to be released and sign with a new team right away.”
That’s a change from prior seasons, and something to keep in the back of your mind when news of any noteworthy player being released hits your notifications.
2025 NFL Trade moves (October/November)
AFC
Dre’Mont Jones (Baltimore Ravens)
Alohi Gilman (Baltimore Ravens)
Joe Flacco (Cincinnati Bengals)
Tyson Campbell (Cleveland Browns)
Sauce Gardner (Indianapolis Colts)
Jakobi Meyers (Jacksonville Jaguars)
Greg Newsome (Jacksonville Jaguars)
Trevor Penning (Los Angeles Chargers)
Odafe Oweh (Los Angeles Chargers)
Roger McCreary (Los Angeles Raiders)
AD Mitchell (New York Jets)
Maz Smith (New York Jets)
John Metchie III (New York Jets)
Kyle Dugger (Pittsburgh Steelers)
NFC
Joe Tryon-Shoyinka (Chicago Bears)
Rashid Shaheed (Seattle Seahawks)
Quinnen Williams (Dallas Cowboys)
Logan Wilson (Dallas Cowboys)
Jaelan Phillips (Philadelphia Eagles)
Jaire Alexander (Philadelphia Eagles)
Michael Carter II (Philadelphia Eagles)
Keion White (San Francisco 49ers)
