Since parting ways with Stefon Diggs, the Buffalo Bills have lacked a true number-one receiving target. Against the Atlanta Falcons last Monday night, quarterback Josh Allen and Buffalo’s offensive line faced a blitz on more than half the snaps. In those moments, it became clear that this wide receiver group isn’t going to get the job done in 2025.
It’s possible that wide receiver Joshua Palmer was going to have a career game after hauling in two big catches early in the first quarter, but then he was sidelined
with an ankle injury. It could have been a big night for tight end Dalton Kincaid if he didn’t miss the game due to a nebulous oblique injury.
Regardless, the receivers room needs help, and soon. Wide receiver Elijah Moore has mostly been utilized as a gadget player this season by offensive coordinator Joe Brady. Then there’s wide receiver Curtis Samuel, who can’t stay healthy and has been a healthy inactive multiple games already this season. So, where can this team turn to for help?
The most obvious and immediate answer is wide receiver Gabe Davis, who’s currently on the practice squad. That may give a lot of Bills Mafia pause. During his first stint with One Bills Drive, Davis was hot and cold, either making truly great plays or nowhere to be seen. That’s not too unlike the current situation with wide receiver Keon Coleman. But back to Davis: Is he the alpha down the field when the offense needs a huge play?
Perhaps the move is to trade for someone, which must happen on or before the NFL trade deadline date of November 4. The problem facing general manager Brandon Beane right now is that Buffalo has very limited funds to make a major trade for anyone. How limited? Buffalo has just over $2 million to work with, which isn’t ideal when looking to bring in a difference maker.
That means the Bills have to look at more affordable free-agent options or perhaps a manageable trade. If Buffalo was to go the trade route then they would need to either look for a player at the end of their current low-dollar deal, or overpay a team in terms of draft compensation so that the trading team would eat a lot of that player’s contract.
It’s a difficult situation to be in, especially after Beane made Palmer a priority in free agency and they were finally out of the cap constraint blanketing them from trading away Diggs a season ago. But here they are, with the same problem to fix and the same concerns in trying to properly address it.
If social media was the end all be all then Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown would be on his way to Orchard Park, NY. He is a dominant WR1, the likes of which the Bills crave, but with that he also carries a bit of that WR1 mentality and trends as a malcontent when not getting targets. But Brown’s just not a realistic option this season. If the Eagles were to move on from him in 2025, Philly would take on a dead-cap hit of more than $89 million. So… not happening.
There are a few realistic options, of which the New Orleans Saints have more than one player who the Bills could take a peak at. A popular name in recent days has been Rashid Shaheed, whose base salary is $4.2 million (set to be a free agent in 2026). Shaheed has true game-breaking speed over the top that Allen so desperately needs. New Orleans also offers a more polished option in Chris Olave. He’s in the last year of his rookie contract, but he does have a history on concussions so you never know if the next hit could be his last.
For what it’s worth, there are plenty of unconfirmed rumors that the Bills are among several teams showing interest in trading for Chris Olave.
The Las Vegas Raiders don’t seem ready to contend in 2025, and wide receiver Jakobi Meyers has already asked for a trade once this season. Meyers is 28 years old and coming off a thousand-yard campaign in 2024. However, his base salary is $10.5 million so that means the Bills might have to increase their offer to the Raiders in hopes Vegas would eat some of Meyers’ money. For a comparison to that above with Meyers, think of how Buffalo handled the trade for Amari Cooper last season.
Speaking of Cooper, maybe he just didn’t like Vegas, which is why he abruptly retired after signing there late this past summer. Importantly, if the Bills could convince him to come back, they would still have to work out a trade as the Raiders retain Cooper’s contract rights.
Another popular name tired to One Bills Drive on social media is Detroit Lions receiver Jameson Williams. An absolute speed burner, Bills Mafia just saw Williams score a touchdown against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday Night Football. Williams has a base salary of only $1.6 million — and he’d still present four more seasons of team control thanks to his current contract.
There’s one more option we’ll mention here. The San Francisco 49ers are once again bit by the injury bug, now facing an uphill battle for NFC contention especially after linebacker Fred Warner went down with a season-ending ankle injury. Due to all that, perhaps it’s worth a call to ask about wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk. Remember, he received a big extension last year but then suffered a torn ACL that still has him sidelined. Aiyuk has a bass salary of around $1.2 million for the next two seasons before that extension takes hold, so maybe they pick up the phone.
If you’re Josh Allen, who’s your desired target here — or is it someone else? But remember, the salary cap is real.
