Josh Allen to Stefon Diggs sounds nice, but what about Allen to Emmanuel Sanders? Apparently that was legitimately a possibility.
According to Sanders, on the same day that Buffalo traded for Diggs, he had spoke to the Bills. Sanders was an unrestricted free agents this offseason who eventually signed with the Saints after his Super Bowl run with the 49ers in 2019.
“I spoke with the Bills for a little bit,” Sanders told The Rich Eisen Show. “And I told them, ‘Let me think about the idea, give me a night.’ And 30 minutes later the Stefon Diggs deal went through and I was like, ‘OK.’”
Apparently Buffalo general manager Brandon Beane was in a pretty impatient mood on March 16, the day the deal went down. Had Sanders simply accept their offer on the spot, it’s very unlike the Bills have Diggs.
On Sanders’ experience with the Bills, it does matchup with reports on the deal. Talks between Beane and Vikings general manager Rick Spielman reportedly moved fast that day and a deal came together. Buffalo was said to have “blown them away” with their offer, which included a first-round pick.
In addition, if the Bills did add Sanders instead of Diggs, it really shows how much the Bills don’t value size much. Beane and Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott have said various times that size doesn’t make a good wideout, talent does. The 33-year-old Sanders is only 5-foot-11, not a big-bodied guy… and niether is Diggs, 26, who’s only six-feet tall himself.
Buffalo could still add that type of target later this offseason with the 2020 NFL Draft still to come, but much offseason analysis of the Bills roster saw an opening for a large playmaker immediately. Evidently not. We’ll see if the Bills keep adding.
[lawrence-related id=58182,58123,58048,58111]