1. Remembering the the tweet that led to the Stefon Diggs trade
"Without social media does that move happen?" Beane said to Cris Collinsworth Richard Sherman thinking back on the Stefon Diggs trade.
One year ago today, the Bills traded for wide receiver Stefon Diggs. Expectations were high for the receiver once he got to Buffalo, but few could have predicted that he would lead the NFL in receptions and receiving yards in 2020.
Bills general manager Brandon Beane appeared on PFF’s The Cris Collinsworth Podcast featuring Richard Sherman where he discussed how that trade came to fruition.
Beane told Collinsworth and Sherman that the Bills had inquired about Diggs in 2019, but the door was not open. It wasn't until Diggs tweeted 'it's time for a new beginning' that Beane checked back in with Minnesota about a possible trade. Here's how it happened from Beane's eyes.
"After the season as we're approaching free agency last year when this went down, Stef put a tweet out there," Beane told Collinsworth and Sherman. "I don't remember what it was, but it was about new beginnings or something like that. We checked with the Vikings and at that point, it was a different conversation. It wasn't, 'Hell no.' It was, 'We're not shopping him, but if you really want him, what would it be and think about it.'"
Beane admitted it was a quick turnaround from initial conversation to the trade taking place.
"So that conversation started maybe around 4 p.m., we had a couple conversations in between," Beane shared on the podcast. "Around 9:30, 9:45 that night, we got it done. It shows you how quick these things can happen. I didn't wake up that morning thinking we were trading for Stef Diggs.
"But fortunately we had done all of our background, who he was, what type of person, what type of practice player he was, how professional he was, anything like that and not everything had been perfect for Stef in Minnesota. But we felt comfortable that bringing him into our culture, he would be a fit. Fortunately for us, he was."
2. How the offensive line wants to improve in 2021
Bills offensive lineman Jon Feliciano met with media over Zoom on Monday to discuss his new three-year contract extension in Buffalo. With Feliciano's new deal, the offensive line is hoping for continuity in 2021. In addition to Feliciano, Dion Dawkins, Mitch Morse, Daryl Williams and Cody Ford will all return. The starting five are undetermined, but the group is looking forward to being healthy and building on their chemistry from last season.
When they hit the field for camp, Feliciano thinks there are a lot of areas the group can improve in.
"We're going to be starting from scratch this upcoming season," Feliciano said. "I mean we have to do everything better--run the ball better, keep our passing game where it's at, our communication can be better. We have extremely gifted people on the outside, so they make up for small things that we weren't so good at.
"We have to just keep working on the small things and have an understanding that it's completely new season. What we did last year was nice and all, but it was for not because we didn't finish the job."
3. The best move for Buffalo in free agency according to B/R
Bleacher Report came up with each NFL team's best move they can make once free agency begins. With Matt Milano, Daryl Williams and Jon Feliciano staying in Buffalo, B/R thinks the Bills should use free agency to target a wide receiver.
Buffalo Bills: Snag a 2nd-Wave WR
The win-now Buffalo Bills already (surprisingly) wrapped up starting linebacker Matt Milano.
Milano, 26, was one of the top linebackers set to hit the market, and the Bills didn't have a ton of wiggle room to make something work ($9 million in cap space). Buffalo also prioritized Daryl Williams, with nothing being more important than keeping budding superstar quarterback Josh Allen healthy.
Now it's on to other more minor problems, such as the wideout room without deep threat John Brown. He had only 52 targets last year yet averaged 13.9 yards per catch. A cheaper deep threat such as Willie Snead IV, John Ross III or Phillip Dorsett II could replace the production.
No matter the name, Buffalo doesn't have a ton of holes to fill, and its surrounding pieces are good. Retaining those two key free agents should provide a boon, and adding a playmaking wideout at a low cost would keep its draft options open.
