Reasons why Buffalo Bills will regret standing pat at NFL trade deadline

What a tease.

After weeks of rumors swirling leading up to the NFL trade deadline, the Buffalo Bills stood pat without any moves to help bolster an injury-plagued unit.

The Bills had obvious needs at wide receiver, in the secondary, along the defensive line and perhaps more with Tuesday’s 4 p.m. deadline looming. And despite a late report that Buffalo was close to landing two players from the Washington Commanders, nothing ultimately transpired, and the Bills will now enter the second half of the season with plenty of pressure to prove they made the correct decision.

However, at this point, it appears as if they made the wrong one.

Oct 26, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Andy Dalton (14) passes against Buffalo Bills defensive end Michael Hoecht (55). | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Injuries piling up

The Bills have been besieged by injuries this season, particularly along the defensive line, where it seemed as if they could have benefited from a boost.

Edge rusher Michael Hoecht was lost for the season due to a torn Achilles sustained during Buffalo’s Week 9 win over the Kansas City Chiefs. In addition, rookie second-round pick T.J. Sanders (knee) remains on Injured Reserve, while fellow defensive tackle Ed Oliver (biceps) is out for the regular season, and DT DeWayne Carter (Achilles) won’t return until the 2026 campaign.

DaQuan Jones has returned to practice following a three-game absence due to a calf injury. Still, the Bills had a clear need up front defensively, but instead bypassed an opportunity to add a potential contributor to bolster a unit in need.

Elsewhere, on the back-end, starting safety Taylor Rapp was recently lost for the season due to a knee injury. And while veteran Jordan Poyer has done some good things in his return to a starting role, it’s difficult to imagine he will be a consistent long-term solution for this team down the stretch. Rookie Jordan Hancock may be in line for an increased role moving forward, but he is a neophyte at the position who has never appeared in an NFL playoff game.

Finally, at wide receiver, Khalil Shakir has been his reliable self this season. But beyond him, the Bills don’t have much to speak of.

Keon Coleman has been a non-factor, while Elijah Moore and Curtis Samuel have offered very little in their tertiary roles this season. Perhaps more so than any other position, wide receiver appeared the most likely target for the Bills entering Tuesday morning. Still, nothing came to pass.

The next time General Manager Brandon Beane speaks to the media, he is sure to be questioned about his inaction before the deadline. And we will hear the likely story.

“It takes two to make a trade.”

“We made calls.”

Yada, yada, yada.

But that’s simply not good enough. It seemed there were trades to be made and, for one reason or another, the Bills just couldn’t or wouldn’t make any of them happen.

MORE: Reported Buffalo Bills trade target off the table after being dealt to Jaguars

Oct 5, 2025; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Saints wide receiver Rashid Shaheed (22) celebrates after a play against the New York Giants during the fourth quarter at Caesars Superdome. | Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

Options appeared available

It’s always unclear which players were truly available to teams before the trade deadline. A long list of potential targets was rumored to be on the market over the past few weeks, but that’s only speculation, and we have no way of knowing which players could have actually been acquired.

Still, with the New Orleans Saints trading speedy WR Rashid Shaheed to the Seattle Seahawks for 2026 fourth and fifth round picks, and the Las Vegas Raiders dealing a less inspiring Jakobi Meyers to the Jacksonville Jaguars for 2026 fourth and sixth-round picks, those are two players who would have been clear upgrades for Buffalo on the outside. But for whatever reason, the Bills were either rebuked or didn’t find them enticing enough to make the concessions necessary to obtain their services.

Now, those are just two examples, and as mentioned before, there is no way to know exactly how things went down for Beane and company in their discussions with other teams.

With that said, from the outside looking in, one can’t help but view the Bills coming empty-handed in one of the wildest trade deadline days in recent memory as a significant disappointment.

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen signals to the offensive line during first half action against the Kansas City Chiefs at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park on Nov. 2, 2025. | Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

AFC wide open

The primary driver for fans' desire for the Bills to make a trade is the fact that there is no true powerhouse in the AFC, leaving Buffalo’s pursuit of the No. 1 seed and a conference title more realistic than ever.

The Bills just beat the defending AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs, and have a relatively easy remaining regular-season schedule to deal with. It seemed as if now was the perfect time for Buffalo to go all in in hopes of completing its quest to obtain its postseason aspirations.

But alas, fans will now wonder if the Bills have missed their chance.

MORE: Buffalo Bills receive devastating news on injured rookie CB

Oct 13, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott on the sidelines against the Atlanta Falcons during the first half of a game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

Super Bowl window

With all of the concern among the fan base, the Bills remain 6-2 and one of the top teams in the AFC. They are certainly no slouch.

But over the years, teams that have gone on to win the Super Bowl have made an effort to push themselves over the edge in order to stack the deck as best they can with the playoffs approaching. The most recent example is the 2021 Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams, who made a pre-deadline deal for EDGE Von Miller, leading to their championship win.

Another example was when the Chiefs traded for WR Kadarius Toney before the 2022 trade deadline. Toney turned out to be a bust for Kansas City, but after being acquired, he helped the Chiefs win a Super Bowl that season.

Almost all of the realistic AFC title contenders elected not to make a trade before Tuesday’s deadline, except for the Indianapolis Colts, who sent two first-round picks and more to the Jets in exchange for former All-Pro CB Sauce Gardner. With that being the case, one can’t help but feel Buffalo could have separated itself with one big move, particularly at wide receiver, where they are most lacking.

Terry Pegula Brandon Beane — Terry Pegula, owner, CEO and president of the Buffalo Bills and Brandon Beane, general manager, talk and walk off the field at the end of practice at the Buffalo Bills training camp at St. John Fisher University in Pittsford on July 24, 2025. | Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

But at the end of the day, the Bills will forge ahead with the status quo, hoping what they have assembled over the past several months will be enough to help them reach the mountaintop for the first time in franchise history.

Because anything else will be considered a failure by their fans, many of whom will point to the team’s inaction at the trade deadline as one of the many reasons for Buffalo’s most recent episode of falling short, if that indeed turns out to be the case.

By not making any moves, Beane has placed immense pressure on himself to prove the correctness of the decisions he has made since the Bills’ heartbreaking loss in the 2024 AFC Championship Game. Because fans aren’t just looking for a return to the conference title game.

This season, it’s Super Bowl or bust.

And the question remains, has this team done enough to put itself in a position to slay the dragon?

Only time will tell.

— Sign up for OnSI’s Free Buffalo Bills Newsletter —

More Buffalo Bills News:

Buffalo Bills' youth movement disproves longtime Sean McDermott narrative

Buffalo Bills' defense found its secret weapon in Week 9 win over Chiefs

Bills must make this change after Maxwell Hairston's heroics in Week 9 win over Chiefs

Buffalo Bills' defense has found answer it's been looking for in second-year safety