Titans GM Mike Borgonzi spoke to the mention after his team traded Amani Hooker to the Buffalo Bills on Tuesday before the NFL trade deadline, and now we have a good sense for how early GM Brandon Beane was onto this potential acquisition and how hard he pursued the trade.
On X/Twitter, NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo posted Borgonzi’s press conference on the matter, an enlightening trip behind the curtains:
The detailed story Borgonzi told there was the ideal springboard for me to get this take on the record, which I think is an important one.
Before last season’s trade deadline, Beane’s aggression had been crystal clear and widely adored by Bills fans. The aggression consisted of a collection of well-documented swings with the distinct intention of making the Bills a better team in the present.
Then, the rather unusual Jaylen Waddle fiasco occurred at least year’s trade deadline, which led to the Bills surprisingly not making a move. The subsequent collective failure of the replacement receivers in Buffalo’s incredibly injured wideout room in the playoffs stoked the flames of disgruntled Bills fans.
Being linked but ultimately not trading for the likes of Maxx Crosby or Myles Garrett conjured what I believe is a misperception of who Beane has been as the Bills GM.
One year without a trade-deadline acquisition, and it felt like his reputation began to drift from “Big Baller Beane” to the GM who is always just checking in but never closing deals.
Regardless of how you view DJ Moore, Beane and Co. did send a second-round pick to acquire the veteran wideout as the first major transaction of the Joe Brady era, a move with a direct impact on Josh Allen in mind.
If anything, Beane has struck a sensible balance between risk and restraint. He’s demonstrated the willingness to be aggressive without treating every potential acquisition as the one he must make regardless of cost.
Now, if you’re not necessarily a Beane believer due to the team’s current lack of a Lombardi Trophy in the lobby of team headquarters, that’s OK. And I assume if you’ve gotten this far, this article has read like a team-crafted PR campaign.
It’s not meant to be that whatsoever. I’m not suggesting every Beane move has been correct. Far from. I’m challenging what was, before yesterday’s acquisition of Hooker, a growing sentiment he was a GM content with sitting idly by as all of Buffalo’s contending contemporaries made active attempts to improve their respective rosters.
During his tenure as Bills GM, Beane has consistently explored avenues to make the club better each year. Heck, I think the very continuous inquiries for which he’s criticized because many haven’t led to signings prove he’s quite relentless.
And with the team owning its best record since 1993, the last time it won the AFC, Beane added an impact veteran to the roster before the trade deadline.
