ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — With a 5-2 record and needs on both sides of the ball, particularly on offense. it seemed like the Bills were primed to make a move at Tuesdays' NFL trade deadline.
Like many other teams around the league... they didn't.
Sean McDermott said there was a good reason.
"At the end of the day, we didn't find something that would be responsible for us to do."
Translation: asking prices were too high.
That was reflected in the lack of deals around the league, and to take it a step further, McDermott pointed to the Bills more recent history of how looking for short-term fixes can cause problems.
"If there's not a responsible move for us to make, we're not going to make it. That's what we're here to do. There's been way too many years of irresponsible decision making... let's just put it that way."
That, more than presumably, is in reference to previous managmement of the franchise, and the fact the Bills went 6-10 last season with $55-million in dead money against the cap as a result of the decision making McDermott referred to.
It's a point well taken, but also more than worth pointing out that during McDermott and GM Brandon Beane's tenure, they missed the mark on a trade for receiver Kelvin Benjamin. The Bills game up third and seventh round picks in the 2018 draft for Benjamin, who they wound up releasing last season after he caught 39-passes for 571-yards and just two touchdowns in 18-games.
While the deal got all kinds of praise when it happened, hindsight shows they missed the mark.
That brings us back to the current roster. The Bills offense ranks 24th in the NFL averaging 19.1ppg, and the defense, while very strong for the vast majority of the season, gave up 218 rushing yards in a 31-13 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles this past Sunday. The Bills have too often struggled to beat teams with losing records, and haven't beaten one with a winning record.
Translation: While the franchise is clearly on an upward trajectory, they've far from proven that the current roster is effective enough to beat upper echelon teams in the league and contend in the playoffs.
The Bills (5-2) host Washington (1-7) on Sunday.