Antonio Brown was headed to Buffalo. The most talented wide receiver in the NFL was going to line up on the same side as Josh Allen. Terry and Kim Pegula were going to drill another gas well to help pay for the large amount of guaranteed money that Brown was set to get right off the bat. Everything was perfect, until the player of question, Antonio Brown, was informed that his new home was going to be in Buffalo. At that point, he did what he needed to do to tank the trade.
I personally was elated at the possibility of having the most productive receiver in the league on the Bills. I figured that Beane and McDermott had done their due-diligence on Brown and that if there were issues, they would structure the deal in a way that they could cut bait rather easily. So naturally I was disappointed when Brandon Beane issued the statement below:
After the dust settled on 7 hours of craziness, here are my takeaways from the attempted, and almost completed, trade for Antonio Brown:
Brandon Beane and Sean McDermott are committed to fixing the offense
After purposefully neglecting the offense in his first off-season as a GM to build up the defense and rid the team of terrible contracts given by his predecessor, it appears that Beane understands what needs to be done on offense and is committed to do doing everything he can on his end to bolster Brian Daboll’s unit. It also seems that Beane is willing to swing for the fences to land a possible franchise-changing talent and I love that aggressive mindset.
National perception of Buffalo takes another hit
To be frank, Antonio Brown tanked his own trade because he thinks the Bills and the city of Buffalo aren’t “good enough” for him. Jason La Conforna reported that the reason why the trade fell through because Brown wasn’t willing to play for Buffalo. Every time I hear people knock on Buffalo it makes me cringe. Of course, as fans we know all that the Pegulas are doing to ensure that Buffalo is a premier destination for players and that future facilities are among the league’s best. It is still frustrating to read the backlash on Twitter, the comments such as “I wouldn’t want to play there either.”
Beane and McDermott: Masters of deception??
If there was one thing that I thought I had a good handle on regarding this regime, it was their commitment to the type of player that they want to bring in and have representing the Buffalo Bills. Sean McDermott has preached the importance of culture since Day 1, and all of their signings and draft picks reflect that mindset. So now, here we are on the heels of news that a trade for the biggest NFL diva in recent memory got all the way to the finish line, until said Diva said “no thanks.” Something just doesn’t jive with “The Process”. Maybe they were willing to take a chance on this one? Maybe they thought that Brown would thrive on a young team where he was looked at as a leader? Either way, color me very confused.
The Bills believe Josh Allen is their franchise quarterback
You don’t attempt to make this move if you are not convinced that the current quarterback on your roster is franchise QB caliber. Period. I also believe that good things are in store for Josh Allen and his future in Buffalo, but this is a lofty bet to place on Allen, who has only started 11 games in his career.
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