Bills Central

Trading Von Miller, adding young pass rusher among 'shocking' trades proposed for Bills

Should the Buffalo Bills move on from certain assets a prep for the future? Or make a splash move to help make a Super Bowl push?

McKenna Middlebrook

Jan 21, 2024; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills linebacker Von Miller (40) against the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2024 AFC divisional round game at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 21, 2024; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills linebacker Von Miller (40) against the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2024 AFC divisional round game at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
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It’s clear that the Buffalo Bills are in a season of transition, which has prompted several journalists to speculate on the future of the club and what moves they can make to re-enter Super Bowl contention. Bleacher Report's Alex Ballentine recently broke down some of the moves he feels Buffalo should consider in an article titled "Shocking Trade Ideas Bills Should Pursue Before 2024 Season," an amalgamation of logically sound, but perhaps realistically unfeasible proposals that serve as a reminder that Bills are at a very strange crossroads in their roster build.

Ballentine's first proposal is to trade veteran pass rusher Von Miller, noting that the team could save roughly $8.8 million by trading him after June 1. The idea of moving on from Miller has been on the mind of plenty in Western New York since the Bills' 2023 season ended at the hands of the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Divisional Round.

Buffalo made a big splash in the 2022 offseason when they signed Miller to a six-year, $120 million deal, and it initially paid dividends, with the pass-rusher notching eight sacks before tearing his ACL midway through the 2022 season. He then returned in 2023 and tallied a whopping zero sacks and just three tackles. Anyone who watched Miller could see that he wasn’t himself; he didn’t have the same burst or the same drive that has helped him build a Hall-of-Fame caliber career. 

What do the Bills gain in trading Miller? Well, $8.8 million getting added to the cap is nice. Due to the way Miller had reconstructed his contract, his base salary going into the new season is just $1.5 million, meaning that finding a potential trading partner for Miller shouldn’t be impossible.

But this is Von Miller we’re talking about. A two-time Super Bowl winner, a player with 123.5 career sacks. If Miller can rebound to the player he was when he first signed with Buffalo, the Bills will not only have a top-five defense but come back this season as a Super Bowl contender. Ballentine had this to say on the matter, “But the cap savings might be worth more to the Bills than hoping Miller becomes an effective player again.”

Related: Where does Bills' starting CB duo rank among league's best?

The analyst's second proposal sees the team pursuing Arizona Cardinals offensive lineman Elijah Wilkinson after the offseason departures of Mitch Morse and Ryan Bates. Wilkinson has experience across the entire offensive line, logging significant snaps at both guard spots and right tackle throughout his career, and the Cards are a team that is rebuilding. They’ve also recently addressed the offensive line position by drafting both Isaiah Adams and Christian Jones. Though Wilkinson just re-signed to Arizona, they do have depth across the unit. 

And Buffalo could use the help on the offensive line, as it could be potentially starting a rookie and a second-year player across their line this year. The addition of Wilkinson would be a veteran presence with 45 starts underneath his belt. In the 2023 season, Wilkinson also allowed just three sacks across 501 snaps, according to PFF. The Bills wouldn't only be adding a veteran presence, but a talented one at that.

Ballentine's final (and flashiest) trade idea sees the team making a play for Tampa Bay Buccaneers edge rusher Joe Tryon-Shoyinka; he's an interesting prospect because he is a former first-round pick, has all the physical tools, and has excellent size for an edge rusher. 

Yet, his potential hasn’t matched his production. 

Since being drafted in 2021, Tryon-Shoyinka has tallied just 13.0 career sacks. He is coming off his best season though with 5.0 sacks, and has begun to show flashes of that potential. But, he’s at an interesting point in his career where the Bucs could get a decent trade package for him, he could get re-signed to the Bucs to a modest contract, or hit free agency and bet on himself. This would be a splashy move for the Bills because it’s a low-risk, high-reward deal where they can potentially mold the former first-round pick into his potential. Ballentine has this to say regarding Tryon-Shoyinka and the Bills, “A fresh start in a new system might be just what he needs to get his career back on track. His durability and youth alone would make him a good addition to the Bills rotation and he might be available for cheaper than you'd think based on his performance.”

These are all hypotheticals of course, but which of these trades would you want the Bills to pursue? The instant impact of Wilkinson? The potential of Tryon-Shoyinka? Or the shedding of Miller?

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McKenna Middlebrook
MCKENNA MIDDLEBROOK

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