Reactions To Marcell Dareus Trade

The Bills traded defensive tackle Marcell Dareus to the Jaguars yesterday for a 2018 sixth-round pick (which could ultimately turn into a fifth-rounder). The player’s contract was much too expensive for the Bills to tolerate, and most pundits were impressed with the team’s ability to shed the money. We’ve compiled the majority of those reactions below…

• Bills general manager Brandon Beane referred to Dareus as a question mark, citing the player’s high salary and previous suspensions.“He’s not a bad person at the end of the day,” Beane said (via ESPN.com’s Mike Rodak). “I wish him the best, and I know Sean [McDermott] does and the whole organization does… I give Marcell [Dareus] a lot of credit. I thought he made huge strides as of late. But we thought this was a good move for us going forward. But it is also a fresh start for him.”
• According to Joe Buscaglia of WKBW in Buffalo (via Twitter), Beane wasn’t actively shopping Dareus. Instead, the general manager claimed that the Jaguars had reached out to the Bills. Ultimately, Buffalo decided it was a good deal for the organization and pulled the trigger.
• More from Beane (via Buscaglia on Twitter): “Anytime you pay a guy double digit APY’s, you have to make sure they fit your team as a player and a person…He’s definitely a guy we would have talked about after the season, ‘How does he fit, moving forward.'”
• Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com refers to the trade as a “cap savings bonanza” for the Bills, noting that the organization has done an admirable job of fixing their “broken salary cap.” While the team will be stuck with $14.2MM in dead money next season, this scenario is more appealing than cutting him following the current campaign. Meanwhile, the Jaguars had more financial flexibility, allowing them to inherit most of the contract without compromising their future.