Bills Earn Rave Reviews in Post-Free Agency Report Card

After falling short of the Super Bowl once again, the Buffalo Bills decided it was time for a change.

They fired head coach Sean McDermott, who was 98-50 in the regular season and 8-8 in the playoffs, and promoted Joe Brady. While they hope the change at coach shakes things up, their real chances for a title depend on the roster.

Quarterback Josh Allen is a championship-caliber player, but he needed help at receiver. Buffalo also needs more explosive play off the edge defensively.

General manager Brandon Beane believes he solved these concerns by trading for wide receiver DJ Moore and signing outside linebacker Bradley Chubb. For good measure, he beefed up the secondary with CJ Gardner-Johnson, Geno Stone, and Dee Alford. Buffalo also kept starting center Connor McGovern, which felt like a long shot at one point.

Buffalo Bills earn respectable grade in free agency report card

Miami Dolphins linebacker Bradley Chubb runs on the field at the start of the game against the Cincinnati Bengals. | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Not every move was universally loved, but that’s an unrealistic expectation. The real question is whether the Bills did enough to contend, and SI.com’s Gilberto Manzano believes they have.

In his AFC free agency grades, he gives the Bills an A-, saying they’re a better team now than they were one year ago.

”Buffalo received criticism for the amount of guaranteed money it committed to Moore and Chubb. But the Moore trade won’t be an issue if he’s making clutch plays for Allen throughout the season, which he did for Caleb Williams last season in Chicago,” Manzano wrote.

“And the Chubb signing could look better if the Bills draft a top edge rusher to give themselves a strong rotation at the position. This was the best way for a Super Bowl contender with limited cap space to get better, and it appears this roster is in better shape than a year ago.”

Buffalo still has a chance to improve their roster with the 26th pick in the upcoming NFL draft. They’re expected to look at every available wide receiver, since they’re still thin outside of Moore and Khalil Shakir.

Manzano, however, believes they should bring in another pass rusher, which is also an option. That said, linebacker remains a questionable spot and they could consider making a move for someone such as Georgia’s CJ Allen. If they don’t land a starting-caliber linebacker, they might potentially turn to Shaq Thomson or Matt Milano, who are still free agents.

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