Wide receiver and defensive line are among areas the Bills could address before the trade deadline. With 3 p.m. CT fast approaching, Commanders receiver Deebo Samuel and pass rusher Von Miller are names to watch for Buffalo, according to Tim Graham of The Athletic.
The Commanders were expected to remain NFC contenders this year after advancing to the conference title game last season. With an eye on bettering their chances in 2025, they swung an offseason deal with the 49ers for Samuel. Through his first eight games with the Commanders, Samuel leads the team in receptions (42) and yards (367, on just 8.7 per catch), and he has added four touchdowns.
Several months after trading for Samuel, the Commanders signed Miller to a one-year, $6.1MM contract over the summer. That came after the longtime Bronco spent three seasons as a member of the Bills, with whom he could reunite. Miller has only played 35% of defensive snaps for the Commanders, but the 36-year-old has collected four sacks in nine games.
Even though Samuel and Miller have been productive, the 3-6 Commanders may be ready to wave the white flag during an injury-plagued season. Quarterback Jayden Daniels suffered what could be a season-ending elbow injury in a loss to the Seahawks in Week 9. With little room for error left and Daniels out for the foreseeable future, it could lead to exits for Samuel and/or Miller.
The Bills rank toward the bottom of the NFL in spending space, though they did create $1.75MM in breathing room when they restructured cornerback Taron Johnson‘s contract on Monday. That could help them fit either Samuel or Miller under the cap. Samuel, like Miller, is due to become a free agent after the season. The 29-year-old is earning a $1.57MM base salary with a $5.16MM cap hit.
If he ends up with the Bills, Samuel will immediately become the most established member of their receiving corps. Slot target Khalil Shakir has been effective again in 2025. However, second-year man Keon Coleman has underwhelmed, Josh Palmer has been out since mid-October with a knee/ankle injury, and no other Bills wideout has caught double-digit passes.
The Bills released Miller last March to open up cap space and then quickly replaced him with another decorated pass rusher in Joey Bosa. That decision has worked out well for the Bills, who are off to a 6-2 start and have received strong work from Bosa.
While Injuries have been a problem throughout Bosa’s career, he has stayed healthy this season. The rest of the Bills’ D-line hasn’t been as lucky, though. Starting tackle Ed Oliver suffered a torn biceps in Week 8 and won’t return until the postseason (if at all). End Michael Hoecht went down with a season-ending torn Achilles in Week 9.
With Oliver and Hoecht unavailable for the second half, it could point the Bills back to Miller. In returning to Buffalo, he’d join a group of outside pass rushers that currently includes Bosa, Greg Rousseau, and A.J. Epenesa.
Is there anything else?
{crickets}
No way Miller takes more of the Bills money. The team needs someone with a spark, a high energy player like Hoecht, not an “all for me” stats guy.
Von returning would feel like subtraction by addition.
The Commies/Redskins certainly need the picks after GM Adam Peters squandered everything to bring in expensive vets, in the third DC Over-the-Hill Gang.
It’s very frustrating as with Jayden Daniels joining the team, Peters could have taken the long view and built a perpetual contender like the Chiefs. Instead he went for one and done, à la Sean McVay with the Goff for Matthew Stafford trade. But unlike McVay, Peters whiffed.
Unfortunately for you, no team is going to part with any meaningful picks for either of these players.
would have been nice years ago
Von Miller is a low class thug. “Allegedly” hitting a pregnant woman. He and Tyreek Hill must be pals.
Tim Graham is far from a reliable source, he’s a liberal mouthpiece collecting a check from the Athletic and pretty low IQ
It’s not like Beane has been maximizing our draft picks anyway. It’s malpractice to have forced this defense to head into the back half of the year without adding a single reinforcement. Just a big bodied DT, he didn’t have to be an all pro like Q Williams, just someone solid. Maybe a safety or a corner or a linebacker. Just one, didn’t have to be all three positions. Something. Anything.
Did we really end up not trading for anybody?