B/R suggests O-line trade for Bills ahead of 2022

B/R suggests O-line trade for #Bills ahead of 2022:

The Bills have had an eventful offseason so far.

The team has been active in adding talent to their roster in the draft as well as through free agency. With Super Bowl hopes they’ve aimed to improve their squad and move closer to winning a championship.

As the beginning of the 2022 NFL season draws closer, the team still has time to add to areas of need. Bleacher Report’s Ian Wharton has suggested a trade that could help Buffalo by way of his “1 Trade Each NFL Team Should Offer Before 2022 Training Camp Starts” list.

Here is a look at who he identified as a trade target.

Buffalo Bills: Trade for Walker Little

Bills get: OL Walker Little

Jaguars get: 2023 fourth-round pick

As with most Super Bowl contenders, the Buffalo Bills have leveraged their cap sheet as much as they can in order to maximize their roster quality. With just $5 million of cap space, we went bargain hunting. The Bills also don’t have many needs, so we had to find a young player with upside who could benefit from a positional change or new scenery.

The Bills’ biggest weakness is along the interior of their offensive line. Signing veteran Rodger Saffold was a good short-term addition, but there’s uncertainty at left guard beyond 2022, and the right guard spot will be decided between Ryan Bates and Cody Ford. Bates played just 294 snaps last year, and Ford has never established himself despite being a second-round pick in 2019.

With the Jaguars re-signing Cam Robinson to a massive new deal and investing into Jawaan Taylor as an early second-round pick, there’s no room for Little to start in Jacksonville. He could benefit from a move to guard in Buffalo since he’s a solid athlete but struggles with dealing with power rushers off the edge.

The best case is Buffalo adds a starting-caliber guard for a Day 3 pick. The worst case is they bolster a position of need for two years until Little is a free-agent.

Given how he’s buried on the depth chart behind talent at his position on the Jaguars and how that could prevent him from gaining meaningful gameplay experience and opportunities, the trade makes sense for Little and the Jags.

As for Buffalo, Wharton makes good points in terms of the versatile ways Little could slot in during a tenure with the team that make sense as a cap-friendly addition consistent with some of the short-term deal lengths the Bills have signed players to.

Bills GM Brandon Beane has made it clear he will always look to improve the trenches on both sides of the ball and has even expressed emphasis at times this offseason in regards to strengthening the offensive line specifically.

It’s entirely possible if not likely he’ll continue to do so entering the season, and a trade for a player like Little could be one possible way to do just that.

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