The Buffalo Bills revamped their receiving corps in the 2024 offseason, allowing former complementary piece Gabriel Davis to depart as a free agent before trading perennial Pro Bowler Stefon Diggs, the franchise’s fourth-all-time leading receiver, to the Houston Texans. Buffalo supplemented their departures with high-upside rookies and value free agents like Curtis Samuel, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, and Keon Coleman; these players, when combined with third-year pass-catcher Khalil Shakir and sophomore tight end Dalton Kincaid, figure to keep the Bills’ passing game afloat, but the offence, on paper, isn’t as frightening as it was
The Buffalo fans are very interested in Brandon Aiyuk, a second-team All-Pro pass-catcher who asked to be traded from the San Francisco 49ers this week due to a broken contract dispute, because of this idea. Even though San Francisco has previously stated in the open that it would not be trading the wideout, supporters across, including those in Western New York, continue to daydream about Aiyuk wearing the uniform of their favourite team.
And what a fascinating potential that is. Despite receiving national attention recently, Aiyuk is still regarded as one of the NFL’s more underappreciated wide receivers. In his four years as a professional, he has caught 269 passes for 3,931 yards and 25 touchdowns, making him an exciting player to watch as a pass-catcher due to his exceptional route-running ability and quickness. Matching the 26-year-old with an otherworldly quarterback in Josh Allen would undoubtedly result in frequent fireworks, a sentiment that’s recently been echoed by ESPN.
The Bills were mentioned as a possible suitor for Aiyuk in a recent piece by reporter Dan Graziano for the publication that ranked the five teams in the league as Aiyuk’s greatest fits. The author suggests that Buffalo may have made the trade in response to its desire for more elite pass catchers as well as its offseason receiver acquisitions.
The Bills aren’t far off and could probably get there with a few minor adjustments, but they also don’t have the cap capacity to take on $14.125 million, according to Graziano. “The Bills undoubtedly have a need at the position after trading Stefon Diggs to Houston and losing Gabe Davis to Jacksonville in free agency. As of right now, Buffalo appears set to aim to base its 2024 offence around second-year rookie Keon Coleman.
A move for Aiyuk isn’t out of the question, but it doesn’t appear realistic right now. The receiver, who has one year left on his rookie contract and has made a trade request mostly because he lacks a financially feasible long-term deal, will require an immediate extension from whatever team eventually acquires him, should he be transferred. The Bills are still short on cash in the near term, even though their offseason moves (the Diggs trade, for example) gave them more long-term financial flexibility. According to OverTheCap, Buffalo currently has just over $10 million in salary cap space, and the team prefers to have cash on hand in case things get tight during the regular season.
