Bills Urged to Add Pro Bowl LB at NFL Trade Deadline

Bills Urged to Add Pro Bowl LB at NFL Trade Deadline

The Buffalo Bills suffered a major loss in their linebacking group when Matt Milano went down with an injury during training camp, but one new report suggests they could find some help ahead of the upcoming NFL trade deadline.

Pro Football Focus writer Bradley Locker created a group of “fairytale trades” ahead of the upcoming deadline, suggesting the Bills could target Cleveland Browns linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah. The Bills have already made one deal with the Browns, landing wide receiver Amari Cooper, and Locker believes they could deal again to address the defensive side of the ball with the Pro Bowl linebacker.

Bills Would Address Major Need

Locker noted that the 25-year-old Owusu-Koramoah has “blossomed into one of the better linebackers in football” and earned the fourth-highest PFF grade (86.6) among linebackers with 100 or more snaps this year. He also boasts a 92.4 run grade, which Locker noted is a career high.

The Bills could use some reinforcement at linebacker, Locker added.

“Buffalo added Cooper to its previously unimpressive receiving room, but holes still exist at positions like linebacker,” Locker wrote. “Without star Matt Milano, Buffalo’s linebackers have posted a 53.4 overall grade, which ranks 28th. The team’s highest-graded linebacker is Dorian Williams at a very pedestrian 65.0 overall mark.”

The Bills have been banged up in their linebacking corps, with Terrel Bernard suffering an ankle injury in the team’s win over the Tennessee Titans on Oct. 20. He was listed as day-to-day this week, which SI.com’s Kyle Silagyi noted is a bad sign for next week’s game against the Seattle Seahawks.

“He attempted to return [in Sunday’s game] but was ultimately ruled out; though the ailment is playing a role in the linebacker’s absence, McDermott also stated that he was excused for personal reasons, mentioning that his injury is viewed as a ‘day-to-day” knock, Silagyi wrote. “The third-year defender recently returned from a pectoral strain and has been incredibly impactful when active this season, so his day-to-day designation is encouraging.”

Bills Could Plan More Trade Moves

The Bills already made a splash by adding Cooper, who caught a touchdown in his first game less than a week after joining the team, and have hinted that more moves could be coming. General manager Brandon Beane signaled that the team would remain active in looking for players, not content to think of 2024 as a rebuilding year after some key offseason losses.

“We’re still all-in,” Beane said, via Pro Football Talk. “If this didn’t happen, if Cleveland was not ready to do it, we were going to continue to monitor. And listen: We’ve still got a few weeks until the trade deadline. If we feel there’s something else that we need or can get us over the top, we have been all-in all along. I know we lost some names this offseason, some guys who have been captains, it was an offseason of transition, but the mindset here as long as Josh Allen is our quarterback is we’re gonna try and win this thing, and we’re going to do what we can every single year.”

Beane has added some key players at the deadline in past seasons, including cornerback Rasul Douglas last season.